Fox News, "" (Op-Ed)
鈥淎re relationships with Chinese officials 鈥榗ritical?鈥� Just about everyone would say they are. The proposition makes sense because guanxi 鈥� personal connection 鈥� is so important in Chinese society for getting things done.
Yet there is scant evidence that having good personal ties with China鈥檚 supreme leaders has ever helped America get what it wanted from Beijing. Moreover, 鈥榝riendship鈥� 鈥� if we can use such a word in this context 鈥� means less than ever before.
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Every time a new Chinese leader arrives on the scene, there is great hope that he will be better than his predecessor. With Xi, analysts are pointing out that his daughter goes to Harvard, that his first wife lives in England, and that he likes movies about.
Yet whatever he may personally think, he will be constrained by the rigid system in which he must act and the factionalism that is undermining his role in Beijing.
In short, the nature of the system he will nominally lead will dictate how he will act.
The best thing Washington can do Tuesday is show strength, resolve, and consistency. That, far more than friendship, is what will impress ruthlessly pragmatic Chinese leaders like Vice President Xi.鈥�
