Doug Bandow

China is not known for its commitment to human rights. While the Chinese people remain much freer than during Mao Zedong's rule, President Xi Jinping has been cracking down on dissent inside and outside of the Communist Party. For good reason people of good will in America wish to encourage Beijing to better respect its citizens' civil and political liberties. Unfortunately, gratuitously antagonizing the People's Republic of China isn't likely to help the Chinese people. Rather, doing so almost certainly will make Beijing less willing to make concessions to the U.S.

Four decades ago South Korea's President Park Chung-hee, father of the current president, launched a quest for nuclear weapons. Washington, the South's military protector, applied substantial pressure to kill the program. Today it looks like Park might have been right.

Relations between the U.S. and China have grown tenser as the latter has developed economically and advanced internationally. After all, few Americans want to cede their dominant position while most Chinese are determined to regain what they believe to be Beijing's rightful influence. The two are waging a bitter but so far nonviolent struggle in Burma, or Myanmar. And the U.S. appears to be winning. Maybe America isn't in danger of being tossed out of Asia after all.

Mao Zedong, China's "Great Helmsman," died four decades ago. Only after his murderous reign finally ended could his nation move forward. Dramatically. The old dictator and his cronies wouldn't recognize China's capital today. Beijing has become a sprawling metropolis. It mixes high rises of dramatic architecture with squat structures of modern power. Night clubs and fast food restaurants. Endless traffic jams highlighted by luxury autos. Prolific advertisements for Western goods and finely attired Chinese "princelings."

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou recently met in Singapore. Never before has Beijing treated the island's government as an equal. It was a small step for peace, but the circle remains to be squared. China insists that Taiwan is a wayward province, while the vast majority of Taiwanese feel no allegiance to the People's Republic of China (PRC). If, as expected, Taiwan's opposition presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen wins the election in January, relations between the two states are likely to shift into reverse.

Many U.S. policymakers see China as the answer to North Korean proliferation. If Beijing would just tell the North's Kim Jong-un to behave, East Asia's biggest problem would disappear.

Beijing — Mao Zedong, China's "Great Helmsman," died four decades ago. Only after his murderous reign finally ended could his nation move forward. Dramatically. The old dictator and his cronies wouldn't recognize China's capital today. Beijing has become a sprawling metropolis. It mixes high rises of dramatic architecture with squat structures of modern power. Night clubs and fast food restaurants. Endless traffic jams highlighted by luxury autos. Prolific advertisements for Western goods and finely attired Chinese "princelings."

In the near future the U.S. Navy (USN) reportedly will sail within 12 nautical miles of islands claimed by China in the South China Sea (SCS). This is welcome news for those who believe that Washington's weakness in the face of China's "blatantly illegal" island reclamation campaign has encouraged Beijing's bad behavior. Now the question is: what comes next?

Shanghai, China—Shanghai is China's financial capital. The former Western concession today shows little sign of the many bitter political battles fought over the last century. Tourists throng the Bund along the Huangpu River while global corporations fill the skyscrapers in Pudong, across the water.

Whenever China is mentioned in a presidential campaign, the consequences are rarely good. In 2012 residents of Ohio, where anti-Beijing ads proliferated, might have believed that the campaign hinged on which candidate was tougher on China. Next year U.S. policy toward the People’s Republic of China might become a broader election issue, leading to serious damage in the relationship.

Beijing—There are many obscure tourist sites in Beijing. One missed by many foreigners is the Chinese People’s Anti-Japanese War Memorial Hall. The museum illustrates why China, America’s most fearsome potential competitor, and Japan, Washington’s most important Asian ally, often are at odds. The two are a conflict waiting to happen, which could draw the U.S. into war with a nuclear power.

Beijing—China’s capital looks like an American big city. Tall office buildings. Large shopping malls. Squat government offices. Student-filled universities. Police and security barriers. Political monuments. Luxury retailers. Lots of cars. Horrid traffic jams.

Last year, China joined the U.S.-led Rim of the Pacific Exercise for the first time. However, Beijing’s role in RIMPAC has become controversial. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain recently opined: “I would not have invited them this time because of their bad behavior.”

Japan has always been Washington’s number one Asian ally. That was demonstrated with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s trip to Washington, highlighted by a speech to Congress. Unfortunately, the relationship increases the likelihood of a confrontation between the U.S. and China.

Last year China joined the Rim of the Pacific Exercise for the first time. There were 23 participants and six observers. RIMPAC began back in 1971 with just America, Australia, Canada, Great Britain, and New Zealand.

The Asian order is under strain as the People’s Republic of China has become an economic colossus with growing military might and diplomatic influence. The PRC is asserting territorial claims once considered impractical or worthless. Opposing China are Brunei, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, and Vietnam.

The rising nation was full of self-confidence and determined to expand. Its neighbor refused to negotiate in a bitter territorial dispute, convinced there was no legitimate issue to discuss. The new entrant to the international order also challenged the world’s greatest global power, which was forced to decide whether war could be justified against a country thousands of miles from home. The upstart’s territorial claims were excessive, but no one desired a rerun of past conflicts.

Christianity is thriving in China. Reports that there may be more religious believers than Communist Party members has made Beijing unsure how to respond. Beijing’s sensitivities to religion are well known. Government secular ideology sees religion as offering a competitive worldview to the hegemony of the Party, with legitimate fears that many Christians, especially Catholics, have loyalties beyond China’s borders. Religion brings people together in ways that might eventually influence politics.

North Korea has been in a conciliatory mood recently, suggesting a summit with South Korean president Park Geun-hye. Pyongyang also indicated that it would suspend nuclear tests if the United States cancelled joint military exercises with the South. The North’s deputy UN ambassador said ”many things will be possible this year on the Korean Peninsula” if Washington responded positively.

One of Washington’s greatest policy failures is North Korea. Pyongyang’s most recent provocation apparently was hacking Sony Pictures in retaliation for the movie The Interview. More fundamentally, despite manifold U.S. efforts to enforce nonproliferation, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea remains determined to create a sizeable nuclear arsenal.

North Koreans have formally ended their three-year mourning period for Kim Jong-il. By custom his son, Kim Jong-un, and the country now are free to move forward without hindrance from the past. But no one knows how they will take advantage of their opportunity.

North Koreans have formally ended their three-year mourning period for Kim Jong-il. By custom his son, Kim Jong-un, and the country now are free to move forward without hindrance from the past. But no one knows how they will take advantage of their opportunity.

As U.S. relations with Russia go from bad to worse, even old agreements seem at risk. Such as the Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles, or INF (Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces) Treaty.

China-Korean relations are in a state of flux. The People's Republic of China and South Korea have exchanged presidential visits. Trade statistics suggest that the PRC did not ship any oil to the North during the first quarter of the year. Chinese academics openly speak of Beijing's irritation with its long-time ally. The cold feelings are reciprocated. Last year North Korea's Kim Jong-un sent an envoy to the PRC to unsuccessfully request an invitation to visit. In December Kim had his uncle, Jang Song-taek, executed. Jang had been the most intimate interlocutor with China and the bill of particulars against him included allegations of dubious dealings with the PRC.

The United States confronts increasingly complex challenges. Iraq faces disaster at the hands of Jihadist extremists, Syria's horrific civil war rages on, and Russia is underwriting separatist forces in Ukraine. Washington's policies are failing. The Obama administration has been doing a little better, but not good enough, with China. There is no open conflict between the two, but tensions are high. Territorial disputes throughout the South China Sea and Sea of Japan could flare into violence. North Korea is more disruptive than ever. Other important issues lurk in the background.

Four decades ago the People's Republic of China was a closed and mysterious, even forbidding, society. Mao Zedong and his fellow communist revolutionaries turned an impoverished, backward, authoritarian mess into a starving, retrograde, totalitarian horror. But the 1970s saw the famed opening to the West. Mao's death a decade later allowed Deng Xiaoping to take control as "paramount leader" and initiate reforms that unleashed the creativity of the Chinese people. The PRC has gone from isolated backwater to emerging giant. The high rise office buildings, luxury hotels, flashy advertisements, foreign automobiles, and traffic jams could belong to any big city in the West. Young people sport trendy hair cuts, stylish clothes, tattoos, and piercings. Mao, the "Great Helmsman," would not recognize today's China.

The American policymaking community overwhelmingly believes that China holds the key to stability and peace on the Korean peninsula. If only the People's Republic of China desired, the Pyongyang problem would disappear. Indeed, Secretary of State John Kerry recently traveled to Beijing to press China to act against the latter's ally. There is a risk of overstating the PRC's influence. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea has ruthlessly guarded its independence. Pyongyang even downplayed China's role after the latter preserved the regime during the Korean War. The DPRK might choose to stand-alone against the entire world, including its erstwhile ally, if need be. And the Kim family dynasty might survive, even at great cost to the North Korean people.

Beating up on China has become a favorite political pastime. This year Mitt Romney, playing against type-an avatar of corporate America-threatens to be tough on Beijing. This strategy might win a few votes but could end up discouraging reform within the People's Republic of China. China's history is venerable but tragic. Mao Zedong dominated the PRC from its founding in 1949 until his death in 1976; his policies led to political chaos, pervasive poverty, and mass death. In contrast, his successors, led by Deng Xiaoping, moved China towards the market. The country remains authoritarian, but personal autonomy, economic freedom, and even civic space have expanded.