Left to right: Jung Mar, adviser to the National Association of Chinese Americans, Atlanta Chapter; Cedric Suzman, programs director and vice president, Southern Center; William Zarit; Christina Liao, NACA vice president; Weiwei Chen, NACA board member and Penelope Prime. Photo courtesy of NACA-Atlanta.

The current U.S. downturn coupled with China’s emergence on the world economic stage has made the Asian country an easy scapegoat for politicians decrying the woes of globalization, a political analyst told an audience in Atlanta April 17.

As long as the economy is perceived to be in a recession, “there is no incentive for the candidates to take the foot off the pedal and stop criticizing China,” said Norman Ornstein, resident scholar at the Washington-based American Enterprise Institute.

Dr. Ornstein spoke by Webcast to audiences at 38 venues across the U.S. and Asia, one of which was a gathering of some 50 people at the Southern Center for International Studies in Atlanta. 

His presentation focused on China’s role in the upcoming presidential elections. The town hall forum was moderated by an on-screen representative of the National Committee on United States-China Relations, and featured experts at each venue engaged in discussions with local crowds.  

Although concerns about the safety of Chinese imports and human rights abuses are legitimate issues in the debate over the U.S.’ China policy, the candidates have thus far foregone sophisticated analysis for emotionally charged political posturing, Dr. Ornstein said. 

If they try to be too opportunistic in scolding China, Dr. Ornstein fears that they might be locked into some unrealistic positions if elected.

On the Democratic side, Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have called for President Bush to boycott the opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games in Beijing, citing the need to get tough on China as it cracks down on protests in the western province of Tibet and other parts of the country.

Sen. John McCain of Arizona, the presumptive Republican nominee, has been less hostile toward China and has tried to portray himself as a champion of free trade.

During a stop at the Chick-fil-A Inc. corporate headquarters in Atlanta, he touted the benefits of the North American Free Trade Agreement, or Nafta, deriding his Democratic counterparts for their calls to reevaluate bilateral agreements. 

But Mr. McCain has been equally mum on a specific strategy for dealing with China, which some say is the U.S.’ most important international relationship going forward, and he wants to tap into lingering disdain within his party for China’s form of government, Dr. Ornstein said.

“John McCain wants to play to the anti-Communist element, which is still a significant one in the Republican Party, and he wants to show that he’s for human rights,” Dr. Ornstein said. 

After his presentation, Dr. Ornstein answered e-mail questions from audiences tuned in across the nation.

In his responses, he noted that China must work to improve its image in the world, which has been tarnished by scares principally in the U.S. market over poisonous pet food, lead-tainted toys and the handling of the unrest in Tibet. 

He also said that China must realize that the U.S. press will sensationalize any story to spark controversy, and even though China must own up to its many mistakes, Americans need to temper what they hear in the media with nuanced analysis. 

William Zarit, regional director of the Asia Pacific region for the U.S. Department of Commerce in Beijing, was at the Southern Center to offer a check to some of Dr. Ornstein’s comments with on-the-ground expertise. 

He was joined by Penelope Prime, an economics professor at Mercer University and the director of Atlanta’s China Research Center, who has researched China extensively. 

Mr. Zarit said that as far as he knows, foreign direct investment in China has not slowed due to the concerns Dr. Ornstein mentioned. 

He disagreed with Dr. Ornstein’s assumption that the candidates’ current adverse positions toward China would be binding.  Political promises often have to be adjusted to the real demands of an office.

At least he hopes that’s the case, especially with the Democrats.  He agreed that China has a lot of work to do, but said that the country is a complex place, and the U.S. shouldn’t jeopardize activities in a $65 billion export market because of today’s political winds. 

“China is starting to move into a consumer-driven economy, and with that comes … so many opportunities in what we thought before as not necessarily good industries for China,” including leisure items like cosmetics and tourism, Mr. Zarit said.

Besides, Dr. Prime said, China is not to blame for the woes of globalization, and globalization isn’t even the culprit for much of what’s pinned on it.

“Throughout all these issues of outsourcing and Nafta, we’re going to look back and say, ‘Thank goodness we had those in our economy,’” she said of free trade agreements and overseas labor.

Having traveled extensively in China, she said the issues facing the nation are serious, and the U.S. shouldn’t stop encouraging China to act responsibly as a world power.  But in a historical context, the nation has already come a long way.

“China compared to 30 years ago is a completely different place,” she said.   

The National Association of Chinese-Americans, Atlanta Chapter helped host the two-hour event.