Dialogue with Douglas H. Paal

• Source: Global Times
• [11:11 November 13 2009]
• Comments

Douglas H. Paal, Vice President for Studies, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Global Times: Compared with his predecessors, Barack Obama is the first US president to visit China in the first year of his term. And high-level officials from both sides have interacted frequently in this year. Do you think it means that the US’ policy on China has changed? Or it’s Obama’s expedient measures due to the financial crisis?

Paal: Obama decided early on that among the many messes he inherited from George W. Bush, China policy was not one of them.. In fact he saw an opportunity to start his administration not on a hostile note toward China, but on a cooperative basis to handle issues larger than either China or the US can manage on its own. These issues include the financial crisis, climate change and non-proliferation.