New | Former US Treasury Secretary's call to give Beijing ‘face-saving win’ welcome but unlikely
Henry Paulson’s proposal to work with China on international initiatives is a fringe view, analysts say
Although policy advice regarding China from a former US Treasury Secretary in a new book has been well received by mainland media, Chinese foreign relations experts have warned against excessive optimism over its impact on Sino-US relations.
Henry Paulson’s proposal that Washington should give Beijing a “face-saving win” in international governance in exchange for better relations was not common in the US and was unlikely to make a difference in the near future, they said.
In his new book Dealing with China, which came out in mid-April, Paulson called on US policy makers to welcome the expansion of China’s influence internationally and accept its invitation to work with China-led multinational initiatives.
By respecting China as a competitor, rather than a threat, the US was more likely to press the world’s second largest economy into adopting mutually beneficial policies and agreements, the former Goldman Sachs CEO wrote.
Such notions have drawn much comment from the mainland media. They survived the censors and made headlines in various news outlets, including the website of the Communist Party’s mouthpiece, people.com.cn.
Paulson has also been quoted by mainland media as saying that he is keen to have the book translated into Chinese and published on the mainland.
