Skip to main content
Menu

Main navigation

  • About
    • Annual Reports
    • Leadership
    • Jobs
    • Student Programs
    • Media Information
    • Store
    • Contact
    LOADING...
  • Experts
    • Policy Scholars
    • Adjunct Scholars
    • Fellows
  • Events
    • Upcoming
    • Past
    • Event FAQs
    • Sphere Summit
    LOADING...
  • Publications
    • Studies
    • Commentary
    • Books
    • Reviews and Journals
    • Public Filings
    LOADING...
  • Blog
  • Donate
    • Sponsorship Benefits
    • Ways to Give
    • Planned Giving

Issues

  • Constitution and Law
    • Constitutional Law
    • Criminal Justice
    • Free Speech and Civil Liberties
  • Economics
    • Banking and Finance
    • Monetary Policy
    • Regulation
    • Tax and Budget Policy
  • Politics and Society
    • Education
    • Government and Politics
    • Health Care
    • Poverty and Social Welfare
    • Technology and Privacy
  • International
    • Defense and Foreign Policy
    • Global Freedom
    • Immigration
    • Trade Policy
Live Now

Blog


  • Blog Home
  • RSS

Email Signup

Sign up to have blog posts delivered straight to your inbox!

Topics
  • Banking and Finance
  • Constitutional Law
  • Criminal Justice
  • Defense and Foreign Policy
  • Education
  • Free Speech and Civil Liberties
  • Global Freedom
  • Government and Politics
  • Health Care
  • Immigration
  • Monetary Policy
  • Poverty and Social Welfare
  • Regulation
  • Tax and Budget Policy
  • Technology and Privacy
  • Trade Policy
Archives
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2010
  • November 2010
  • October 2010
  • September 2010
  • August 2010
  • July 2010
  • June 2010
  • May 2010
  • April 2010
  • March 2010
  • February 2010
  • January 2010
  • December 2009
  • November 2009
  • October 2009
  • September 2009
  • August 2009
  • July 2009
  • June 2009
  • May 2009
  • April 2009
  • March 2009
  • February 2009
  • January 2009
  • December 2008
  • November 2008
  • October 2008
  • September 2008
  • August 2008
  • July 2008
  • June 2008
  • May 2008
  • April 2008
  • March 2008
  • February 2008
  • January 2008
  • December 2007
  • November 2007
  • October 2007
  • September 2007
  • August 2007
  • July 2007
  • June 2007
  • May 2007
  • April 2007
  • March 2007
  • February 2007
  • January 2007
  • December 2006
  • November 2006
  • October 2006
  • September 2006
  • August 2006
  • July 2006
  • June 2006
  • May 2006
  • April 2006
  • Show More
March 24, 2017 2:20PM

A Tale of Two Statements

By Eric Gomez

SHARE

Remarks made by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in Beijing caused a collective gnashing of teeth among the foreign policy establishment this week. At least twice, Tillerson said that the U.S.-China relationship was built on “non-conflict, non-confrontation, mutual respect, and win-win solutions.” These exact words have often been used by China’s president Xi Jinping to describe a “new model of major country relations” between the United States and China.

China watchers based in D.C. rushed to criticize Tillerson’s statements for mirroring Xi’s language. Writing for Politico, Ely Ratner of the Council on Foreign Relations said, “terms like ‘mutual respect’ and ‘nonconfrontation’ are code in Beijing for U.S. accommodation of a Chinese sphere of influence in Asia.” A headline in the Washington Post said that Tillerson handed a “diplomatic victory” to China. The article featured quotes from experts such as Bonnie Glaser from the Center for Strategic and International Studies who said, “By agreeing to [mutual respect], the U.S. is in effect saying that it accepts that China has no room to compromise on these issues.” In Foreign Policy, former State Department and National Security Council official Laura Rosenberger argued that U.S. allies in East Asia “may question [U.S.] commitments given Tillerson’s wording in Beijing.”

The consensus seems to be that Tillerson’s statements are bad for the United States and good for China. But this overinflates the importance of Tillerson’s words. The reaction to then president-elect Donald Trump’s statements about the One-China policy offers a useful point of comparison to Tillerson’s statements. Hand wringing over Trump’s statements were justified, but the response to Tillerson’s statements are overblown.

In a December 2016 interview with Fox News Sunday, Donald Trump suggested that the United States would no longer be bound by its longstanding One-China policy “unless we make a deal with China having to do with other things, including trade.” Trump’s statements prompted a strong, mostly negative response from American experts, and rightly so.

The reaction to Trump’s One-China policy remarks was justified because of the circumstances at the time. The interview came shortly after news broke about a precedent-breaking phone call between Trump and the president of Taiwan, which also caused considerable angst among China watchers. The phone call and One-China policy remarks raised serious questions about the future of U.S.-China relations because there was no policy record to judge these actions against.

Supporters of Trump’s behavior argued that his status as president-elect muted the impact of his actions, and since taking office he has taken steps to reassure China that a significant change in American policy toward Taiwan is not likely. However, at the time the actions were taken it was prudent for China watchers to account for worst-case scenarios given the lack of policy to compare the actions against. Even though worst-case predictions turned out to be false, the shadow of uncertainty that loomed over the incoming Trump administration meant that such dire assessments could not be ruled out.

Tillerson’s recent statements in Beijing can be judged against Trump administration policies. When such policies are taken into account, the “diplomatic victory” won by Beijing quickly loses its significance. The first elements of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense system, which Beijing stringently opposes, arrived in South Korea shortly before Tillerson’s trip to the region. A few days before Tillerson’s statements, an aircraft carrier strike group operating under the command of the U.S. Navy’s Third Fleet arrived in South Korea to conduct military exercises alongside the South Korean navy. According to U.S. Pacific Command, this marks the first time that a carrier strike group under Third Fleet command has operated alongside allies in the Western Pacific since World War II.

The Trump administration is also threatening to put greater economic pressure on China, despite its early decision to withdraw from the Trans Pacific Partnership, which many China watchers saw as a boon for Beijing. A recent report by Reuters claims the administration is considering “sweeping sanctions aimed at cutting North Korea off from the global financial system,” which could apply to Chinese banks and firms that do business with North Korea. Robert Lighthizer, Trump’s nominee for U.S. Trade Representative, said he would put more pressure on China in response to its economic practices that hurt the U.S. economy in his confirmation hearing.

The foreign policy establishment is overreacting to Tillerson’s statements in Beijing. There are plenty of U.S. policies, military movements, and economic rhetoric that point to a reality that is divorced from Tillerson’s rhetoric. Words do matter for Beijing, and it may take succor from Tillerson’s words, but this is unlikely to ease their concerns over THAAD deployment, deepening U.S.-South Korean ties, and gathering storm clouds of American trade policy. 

Related Tags
Defense and Foreign Policy

Stay Connected to Cato

Sign up for the newsletter to receive periodic updates on Cato research, events, and publications.

View All Newsletters

1000 Massachusetts Ave, NW,
Washington, DC 20001-5403
(202) 842-0200
Contact Us
Privacy

Footer 1

  • About
    • Annual Reports
    • Leadership
    • Jobs
    • Student Programs
    • Media Information
    • Store
    • Contact

Footer 2

  • Experts
    • Policy Scholars
    • Adjunct Scholars
    • Fellows
  • Events
    • Upcoming
    • Past
    • Event FAQs
    • Sphere Summit

Footer 3

  • Publications
    • Books
    • Cato Journal
    • Regulation
    • Cato Policy Report
    • Cato Supreme Court Review
    • Cato’s Letter
    • Human Freedom Index
    • Economic Freedom of the World
    • Cato Handbook for Policymakers

Footer 4

  • Blog
  • Donate
    • Sponsorship Benefits
    • Ways to Give
    • Planned Giving
Also from Cato Institute:
Libertarianism.org
|
Humanprogress.org
|
Downsizinggovernment.org