Nations must learn how not to catch a tiger by its tail
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US-China relations have gotten off to a less than roaring start in the Year of the Tiger, but the venom of snake-like incrimination can be avoided if both sides engage in some retrospection and put things in an historical perspective.
Indeed, the positive achievements of the world's most important bilateral relationship are so numerous, profound and complex, that it has become part of the landscape and second nature to younger generations who never experienced the frigid depths of the Cold War and the polarizing antipathies in which the global East and global West defined one another as the quintessential enemy.
While there's no space to enumerate the many people-to-people initiatives that made today's peaceful economic integration of two great economies possible, it is worth reminding ourselves that the rich and constant exchange of people and goods across the Pacific that we take for granted today was almost beyond imagination just a generation ago.
Because the mutual gains of economic interdependence and intellectual and cultural exchange have been such game-changers the accomplishments and sacrifices of previous generations may be obscured from view. Those who have contributed to US-China amity have built so sturdy an edifice that we find ourselves standing on a foundation of good deeds and accomplishments so massive that it is almost impossible to view as a whole.
The big picture is basically good, but because politicians are ruthlessly competitive and the drumbeat of the 24x7 media needs conflict to thrive (and sell more ads) we live in an age of angry nitpicking.
The tone of US-China argument is at times strident and acrimonious, full of false bravado and over-wrought nationalism. But in practical terms, we are talking about bumps on the road rather than insurmountable obstacles. The actual conflict has been on the level of a teapot tempest that vents more heat than light and rattles us today only to disappear tomorrow.
Speaking of tea, there is a link between the intransigence one sometimes sees in US-China relations and the "tea-parties" of domestic politics. When frustrations mount, raw emotion sometimes wins the day and ridiculous, counterproductive things are said and done. All this would be funny if it were not for the fact that such hyped-up "manufactured dissent" distracts from serious dialogue and deters the search for joint solutions to important problems such as degradation of the environment and global warming.
China-bashing, from the US side, and America-bashing from the Chinese side, are to global harmony what tea parties are to American democracy. Goodwill is frittered away and the foundations for dialogue dismantled in the quest to score points and snag some short-term gain.
The breakdown of dialogue in the US Congress is so severe that respected lawmakers are quitting just to get away from the mudslinging. In China, as in the US, jostling for power and prestige, rather than working devotedly in service of the people, is a recipe for self-inflicted disaster.
The peace and prosperity we enjoy today, a heroic accomplishment built on the backs of less fortunate ancestors, is threatened by a lack of cultural humility and historical perspective.
A quick review of some current contentious issues underscores the value of putting things in a historic perspective, with introspection enough to consider how others might view the same problem.
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