Obama plays China card, but who holds the ace? — II

Drew Thompson, director of China Studies at the Nixon Center in Washington, said the United States has started to take into account how Chinese “resource needs and self-perceived insecurities” influence its foreign policy.

“The more we address those insecurities and resolve them as much as possible, the more we will get from China in terms of shaping the behavior of other nations, such as Iran, Sudan and Zimbabwe,” he said.

The new dynamic in Sino-America relations was on clear display last April, when Obama brokered a dispute between Hu and French President Nicolas Sarkozy at the G-20 summit in London in April.

The G-20 was under enormous pressure to show unity amid fears financial markets could face another wave of turmoil after the chaos of late 2008 and early 2009.

But at a luncheon of beef and asparagus, Hu and Sarkozy were deadlocked over the French president's proposal to crack down on international tax havens. China was concerned about the potential impact on the Hong Kong and Macau banking sectors.

Ratcheting up the pressure was a threat Sarkozy had issued on the eve of the summit to walk out unless the G-20 talks yielded a firm commitment on financial regulatory reforms.

Obama pulled each leader aside and urged each to give ground, even though his own view on tax havens was closer to Sarkozy's.

At a news conference later, he spoke approvingly of the rise of countries like China and said it was a good thing decisions were no longer made by “Roosevelt and Churchill sitting in a room with a brandy.”

“That's an easier negotiation but that's not the world we live in, and it shouldn't be,” Obama said.

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