American Studies in China Vol.3, 1996 A CULTURAL STUDY OF THE AMERICAN EAST ASIAN POLICY ZHU Shida I East Asia, driven by the Chinese huge market with a 1.2 billion population and the economic dynamism with a doubleª²digit growth, is becoming the growth c e nter of the world economy. The growth rates of the East Asian countries averaged 8% during the past twenty years, while the average growth rate of the developed nations registered 3%. The average growth rate of South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kon g and Singapore ¡ª the ¡°Four Dragons¡± ¡ª and China during the past fifteen yea rs amounted respectively to 8.5% and 9.3%. The Chinese Gross Domestic Product incr eased by 11.8% to US$4,380 billion and its trade volume rose by 20.9% to US$236. 7 billion in 1994. The growth rate of East Asia is three times that of the devel oped countries. The GNP in East Asia totalled US$5,000 billion in 1992, while it was US$6,000 billion in the United States of America. As the direct investment in Asia by Asian nations rose, the Japanese investment in Asia accounted for 18. 4% of the total foreign direct investment in the major Asian markets from 1986 t o 1992, while investment by firms of South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong made up h alf of foreign investment in the region.1 American East Asian Policy American Studies in China The total trade volume of the Greater China Area including the Chinese mai nland, Taiwan and Hong Kong, is listed sixth, only second to the U.S.A., Japan, Germany, France and Britain. According to the report by the Asian Development Ba nk on Oct. 22, 1993, the growth rate of GDP chalked up as high as 8.2% in the Gr eater China Area in 1993, while it was 13% in the Chinese mainland. The report s aid that its absolute increase of exports will exceed that of Japan in the comin g three years if exports of the Greater China Area will continuously grow as dur ing the past fifteen years. According to estimation by Harry Harding, the GNP of three Chinese economic entities totals US$2,000 billion if calculated in accord ance with the purchasing power parity, while it was US$2,400 billion in Japan an d US$5,600 billion in the U.S.A. Their trade volume with the rest of the world a mounted to US$480 billion, while it was US$561 billion in Japan and US$1050 bill ion in the United States. The report from ADB held that if calculated in accordance with the interna tional purchasing power parity instead of with the official exchange rate, the t otal output value of the Greater China Area will be ahead of that of Japan and G ermany and close to that of the United States of America in 2002. The World Bank predicts that the net volume of imports of the Greater Chin a Area will register US$639 billion in 2002, while it was US$521 billion in Japa n. In terms of the comparable international prices, the GDP of the Greater China Area will reach US$9,800 billion, while it was US$9,700 billion in the U.S.A. I n other words, if these predictions are reliable, the Greater China Area will be come an economic pole and the largest one. Daniel Bell, the professor emeritus at Harvard University, notes that if p opulation, economic power and military power are counted as the three pillars to back the national strength, the 21st century might be an Asian one in terms of the first two. The unprecedented growth in East Asia and its prospect will trigg er a series of changes in international politics, strategy and trade. Just as Zb igniew Brzezinski said, with the Asian economic success, people will have to foc us more attention on their political implication and influence. I think that the most outstanding economyª²driven political changes run as follows: 1. The United States will strategically pay greater attention to the Asia ª² Pacific region. The motive force behind the eastward shift of its strategy is ec onomic interest. The eighteen member nations of APEC with a 2 billion population, boast hal f of the world¬ðs total GNP and 40% of the world¬ðs total trade volume. The Amer ican t rade volume with the Asiaª²Pacific region chalked up US$348 billion in 1992, whi l e it was US$220 billion with Europe. The American direct investment in the Asia ª² Pacific region has increased by 400% from 1989 to 1992. US$92 billion have been pumped into Asia. The United States has become the largest foreign investor in E ast Asia and the most important trade partner and the largest market for Asian e xports. The U.S.A. has doubled its exports to Asia from 1988 to 1992, to US$132. 2 billion, which had created 2.5 million domestic job opportunities. The United States exported 26% of its commodities to West Europe, 29% to its North American partners, and 30% to the Asiaª²Pacific region in 1992. It is predicted that the American exports to the Asiaª²Pacific region will grow at an annual rate of 9.4% in the late 1990s and the American exports will be double by the end of this cen tury.2 The annual American trade volume with Asia exceeds US$374 billion, ac counting for 40% of its global trade volume. Warren Christopher, the Secretary o f State, said that in terms of American interest, no place is more important tha n the Asiaª²Pacific region. The American exports to Asia accounted for only 23% of its total in 1985, while it rises to oneª²third now. The American trade volume with Asia has reache d US $400 billion, making up 40% of its global total. According to the statistics from the Chinese Customs, the Sinoª²American trade volume soared from US$2.45 b i llion in 1979 to US$35.04 billion in 1994, increasing by 14 times. China has bec ome the fourth largest American trade partner, while the U.S.A. has been the sec ond largest Chinese trade partner in exports and the third largest partner in im ports. The American direct investment in China grew from US$2.06 billion in 1993 to US$2.49 billion in 1994, amounting to US$8 billion in total. These figures i ndicate that the United States has very important economic interests in East Asi a, particularly in China. Just as Dr. Henry Kissinger said, the United States pr ovides the major market for all Asian countries and plays a role in the Asiaª²Pa cific region that should not be overlooked. As the United States of America focuses on its strategic and economic inte rest after the Cold War, it shows an unprecedented enthusiasm in establishing th e Asiaª²Pacific Economic Community. The existing APEC will perhaps become a vehi c le in the multilateral contact between the U.S.A. and East Asia for economic coo peration and political dialogue. President Clinton said at the press conference of the first Summit Confere nce of APEC that APEC will become a real community with common interest, common target and common responsibility for mutually beneficial cooperation. When comme nting on the idea, Winston Lord, the Assistant Secretary of State in charge of E ast Asian and Pacific affairs, said that the framework as planned by President Clin ton covers the common security, common prosperity, and the common sense of value . Emphasis on ¡°common¡± is very appropriate here, he added, because it is a com mu nity.3 President Clinton unequivocally indicated at the conference on Nov. 1 9, 1994 that with the end of the Cold War, the United States of America will foc us its efforts on Asia for the economic reason. APEC offers America a vehicle to expand its market in the Asiaª²Pacific region. He maintained that with the cont i nuous increase in economic power in Asia, the region will take the place of Euro pe as America¬ðs priority partner in a long run. In this world, national securi ty has an ever closer relation with economy, he said, adding that it is no longer only military factors that count. As American attention has shifted to economic challenge, the U.S.A. shall focus on the Pacific as well as on the Atlantic. The bulletin of the USIA on Oct. 10, 1993 indicated that the Clinton Administration regards APEC as an important center of American economic strategy in the Pacifi c Rim. President Clinton said that as the 21st century is envisioned, no place i s more important than the Pacific Rim for America¬ðs economic prosperity and sta b ility. Ronald Brown, the late American Secretary of Commerce, also held that Am erica should give top priority to the Asiaª²Pacific region in its export strategy.4 2. East Asia will be one of the three large centers in the world structure after the Cold War. Just as Kishore Mahbubani said, the significant difference between the 21st century and the preceding centuries is that there will be three centers of world power (Europe, North America, and East Asia) as opposed to two in the 20t h (Europe and North America) and one before that (Europe).5 The GNP of Japan and East Asian countries and regions accounted for 4% of the world total in 1960, while it was 37% for the United States, Canada and Mexi co. Today, the two groups have the same share of the world GNP, about 24%.6 It is precisely based on economy and geoª²politics that East Asia will bec o me one of the world centers just as some scholars of international politics indi cate. It will usher in a new multiª²polarized era and will be a severe challenge to the United States politically, economically and diplomatically. 3. East Asia beefs up its confidence. The Asian selfª²awareness is a direct outcome in the world political arena after the Cold War. Just as is said above, the Asianized awareness, to a large e xtent, roots in the weakened influence of the West, the United States in parti cular, as a result of the increased internal trade in Asia. As the United States is gripped by a series of social, racial, moral and economic problems inherent in its political and cultural structure, American society is no more an ideal mo del to assimilate in the minds of the Asians though it is still very attractive to them. The effort to focus more attention on its own culture and find the rati onale and positive factors in the Asian culture has enhanced the Asian selfª²awa reness. With the East Asian economic growth and growing integration, the East Asia ns begin to form an understanding of their own. Mohamed bin Mahathir, th e Prime Minister of Malaysia, holds that Asia and its people and culture shall b e regarded as an important part of the world, as the Asians, Americans and Europ eans enjoy the same rights. They shall not be seen as a group of people who must abide by the Western sense of value and culture. Such a new Asian awareness has its social, cultural, economic and political meanings. Yoichi Funabashi maintained that the Asian awareness and the new Asianizat ion is just the result of the globalization of the Asian economy and media.7 The East Asian miracle of economic growth in recent years and the mutual e conomic dependence have strengthened the East Asian confidence in the rationalit y of its own culture, therefore, East Asia has developed independent ideas on a series of issues such as human rights, democracy, economic development, security and the relations between the individual and society and between society and th e state. Some East Asian leaders and scholars put forward the view of ¡°Asian mo r al standards¡± to contend with the Western moral standards. For instance, in cri t icizing the West, Mahathier said that the West has no right to impose its own mo ral and immoral standards on other countries. It seems to them, he contended, if people do not have sexual freedom they do not enjoy freedom at all. As a matter of fact, he said, such freedom refuses traditional and religious taboo and the taboo of matrimony and the family as a social system. Whether the United States can soberª²mindedly understand the Asian awarene s s and assertiveness and build constructive relations with East Asian countries a nd regions is very important for its own interest. 4. The world has a better understanding of Confucian culture and comes to believe that it is necessary to draw on wisdom from Confucian culture to solve h uman problems in the 21st century. The economic growth in East Asia is, essentially speaking, the manifestati on of the shock and fusion between Eastern and Western culture. East Asia assimi lates the knowledge and experience of the Western developed nations in economy, banking, trade and management, gives full scope to the positive Western life att itude of individual aggressiveness and handles well the relations between man an d nature. In the meantime, it fuses all these with the moral strength of moderni zed Confucianism to define the social and individual behavior. It is deemed by s ome scholars that East Asian success, especially that of the four dragons, stems from a cultural environment, mentality and spirit, selfª²discipline in particul ar, provided by the quintessence of Confucianism. Some scholars hold that Asian growthª²oriented dynamism is a hybrid of Wes t ern modernity and traditional Confuciansim. Kishore Mahbubani said, ¡°If the Pac i fic has emerged as the most dynamic region of the world, it is because it has dr awn on the best practices and values from many rich civilizations, Asian and Wes tern. If this fusion continues to work, there could be explosive creativity on a scale never before seen.¡±8 There are other political scientists who do not believe that East Asian ec onomic miracle stems from Confucian culture. They hold that Confucianism, a fair ly restrictive and selfª²denial idea of feudal China, can not provide the inspir ation or stimulus for modern capitalism. I think that the East Asian economic miracle is precisely the final manife station of the Neoª²Authoritarian assimilation of the rational, positive and agg r essive facets of Western civilization, American civilization in particular. It i s the passion for growth inherent in East Asian society that drives it all along . The earlyª²stage passion has been wellª²defined by Confucianism and traditiona l ideas. In East Asia, individualism and the freedom impulse are rationally tackle d from the very beginning of modernization drive and Americanª²style overª²indiv id ualism and excessive freedom are well guarded. This precisely shows the vitality of modernized Confucianism ¡ª Confucianism in modern language and discourse ¡ª and its implication for other cultures. What I mean by modernized Confucianism d enotes the best spiritual heritage of Confucianism ¡ª the harmony of man and the heaven, the harmony of men and the harmony of man and nature ¡ª without its feu dal legacies and the school of thought that is best adapted to modern society. II If it attempts to enter into East Asia, the United States shall first have a culturally correct attitude and strategy, that is to say, it has to identify the distinctive differences between East Asian and American civilization as well as their sense of value. It may be said that with the end of the Cold War and t he change of the international political structure, these differences are more m anifest in the process of their interaction; in the meantime, as the economic gr owth of East Asian countries and regions is accelerated, these differences endow them with new cultural assertiveness and the urge to look into their own histor y and culture and traditions for answers to modern problems. In terms of cbms, such recognition on the part of the Americans is very im portant. The American and East Asian culture both have their traditional rationa lity, i.e. their own rational elements; for a healthy culture, it should not dow nright refuse all these rational elements, but assimilate what is rational to en rich its culture. The American and East Asian culture, including Sinoª²Ameri c an culture, should be complementary to each other. It is very important for a mo re rational world. In a broad sense, the improvement of the relations between Am erica and East Asia, including the Sinoª²American relation, is, to a large exten t, determined by the depth and width of such cultural exchange and fusion. The United States regrettably takes a postª²cold war imperialist posture i n its East Asian policy. American centrism rises when there is only one superpowe r in the world. American centrism makes the American mainstream perception of va lue as the only criterion for world politics and social conduct and imposes it o n others, regardless of the concrete historical and social scenario. Innumerable historical facts prove that it will come to no good end to impose a system of g overnment and value of one country on other civilizations and cultures. The Unit ed States fails to recognize that the fusion of civilizations calls for historic al opportunities and it is a long socioª²historical process. In the meantime, it is imperative to emphasize, too, that on the issue of the fusion of American and East Asian civilization, the East Asian countries and regions shall be on guard against postª²colonial mentality, i.e. an attitude to repel American civilizati on indiscriminately. The United States faces unprecedented challanges on the question of how to handle its difference with East Asian culture. I think the major differences be tween them lie in the following: 1. Human rights (1) If we delve into the nucleus and depth of the question we will find th e understanding of man in each culture is essentially different. In Confucian culture, there is not such an idea as ¡°Men are born equal¡±. A disciple of Confucius once asked Confucius what benevolence is. Confucius repli ed: ¡°It is the love for man.¡± Menfucius also said, ¡°Benevolence is love for m an. ¡± The Confucian concept of man is not panª²cosmic. It denotes a given group of pe ople one loves and respects just as there is the Confucian idea of ¡°There is di f ference in love.¡± In the Confucian mind, it denotes, first of all, the love for those who are most close to one. In the Confucian philosophical system, men are divided into the high (big men) and the lowly (small men), gentlemen and wild me n; they are never equal. The high are virtuous and righteous while the wild men are solely bent on interest. Confucius is a philosopher who thinks that morality is the most important thing in life. So, he believes that man is born with virt ue; in his philosophical system, it means that the gentlemen are born with virtu e. He never thinks of the question of man¬ðs born right in its universal applica tion. (2) The understanding of right is different. In Confucian culture, right is a heavenly endowement, a force of terror fr om on high. It is the heaven that protects the lowly. In the mind of the populac e, right is mysterious and it is something not every body may have. The concept of human rights never appear in Confucianist discussions. The Three Cardinal Gui des govern the relations between the ruler and the subject, the father and the s on and the husband and the wife. The rights of all social strata and their relat ions of dependency are thus clearly marked. Such an approach exists in the depth of thinking in the East Asian countries with Confucian traditions. So, people l ack the spirit to struggle for individual rights. The Confucian idea of ¡°benevo l ent rule¡± is an alm and grace bestowed from on high; it is not based on the pri nciple that every man enjoys equal rights. (3) The countries with centralized authority and the capitalist democratic countries are different in social system. The countries with a tradition of cen tralized power set great store by unity and consensus either in economy or in po litical thinking. The capitalist democratic countries believe in the Newtonian p rinciple and make power diffused so as to protect individual freedom. This diffe rence in the attitude of rule leads to differences on a series of issues. (4) The rule by man and the rule by law are different. In a society where the rule by man has the political sway, people traditionally have a sense of dep endency without independent personality. We will have to recognize that universal human rights are but a lofty comm on ideal of human race yet to be accomplished. So far, no country can boast that their human rights record is perfect. Democracy is a long historical process. I t took the Unites States respectively 94, 144 and 172 years to let the African A mericans, women and American Indians have the right to elect by eliminating the restrictions on race, sex, property, education, age and period of residence. The countries with strong Confucian traditions should not and will not cop y American democracy. They will have to find a way for themselves for social dev elopment and human rights approach. You can not expect that the evolutionary tra nsition will take place overnight. As a matter of fact, changes are indeed taking place. It is necessary for the United Staters to take a full stock of such changes and pay due attention to them. Take China for example. Any fairª²minded man will recognize the progress o f human rights since the inception of the openª²andª²reform policy in China sinc e 1979. The living standards of the Chinese have since markedly improved. An avera ge Chinese in the street may freely voice his criticism of the government and th e leaders in private. The press is enjoying greater freedom and exposing all kin ds of social problems, including official corruption. The Oriental Horizon, a TV daily magazine show, makes sharplyª²worded comments on every aspect of Chinese l ife which is attracting audiences in tens of millions. There are now well over o ne thousand newspapers. The majority of them are the soª²called ¡°small newspape rs ¡±, the blooming unorthodox newspapers that report what they deem is newsª²worth y. The South China Weekend News, Nan Fang Zhou Mo, is one that covers such news as three policemen in Fangcheng city of Guangxi taking liberties with and illegall y detained the waitresses of a small restaurant (June 14, 1996), the corruption and factional fights in the election by 45 People¬ðs Deputies of a township head in Lengshuijiang city, Hunan province (June 28, 1996), the concentrationª²like w o rking conditions in a quarry in Longdou Town of Zhanjiang city, Guangdong provin ce (June 14, 1996) and disturbances by nearly a thousand clubª²holding villagers who overthrew the local authorities in Sijihong Town, Yuanjiang city, Hunan prov ince (June 14, 1996). The Institute of Sociology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences made two surveys from 1988 to 1990. The first survey covered 4,000 young people and t he second 600. In answering a question ¡°Freedom of speech does not mean permiss i on of expression of reactionary ideas¡±, 51.9% of the respondents agree, 24.3% s o mehow agree and 7.7% disagree. If the first category of people are added to the second, three fourths fairly agree with the official stand on the question of fr eedom of speech.9 What is noteworthy is that improvement of human rights is fairly strongly conditioned by development. Human rights are first of all the rights to survive and develop. The East Asians set great store by development, for human rights ca n be guaranteed only when the living standards are guaranteed. You may find this mentality even in every day greetings. When meeting a friend on the way, an ave rage Chinese may say, ¡°Have you had your meal?¡± ¡ª a greeting an average Ameri ca n may presume that he is invited to a dinner. The Chinese attach greater importa nce to their rice bowls than to rights. To this end, domestic political stability and social order and a congenial international economic environment are important. In the latter, the United Sta tes has a lot to do to win the confidence of the East Asians. I have taken heed of an article by the USIA on May 20, 1996 about the Amer ican human rights policy which has come to recognize that ¡°the means by which h u man rights pogress can be achiieved necessarily must vary depending on circumsta nces currently prevailing in each country¡± and that ¡°how difficult a task it i s to achieve real and lasting human rights progress.¡±10 This is fairly positiv e in American approach which smacks less of American centrism. 2. The concepts of value On the relations between the individual and the collective, the first and second surveys of the Institute of Sociology, CASS, show that 70% of the respond ents think that the collective is more important than the individual. Asked to choose what means a good rule, 28.8% of respondents say social st ability, followed by living standards (28.2%), national strength (23.2%) and int ernational prestige (14.3%) in the first survey and the figure jumped to 48.9%, followed by economic strength (38.6%), living standards (22.9%) and democratizat ion (12.5%) in the 1990 survey.11 This is in conformity with David I. Hitchcock¬ðs study. According to his s u rvey, 71% of Asians stand for orderly society as the first priority while only 1 1% of Americans believe so. 78% of Americans deem individual rights as very imp ortant while 29% of Asians think in this way.12 Between democracy and social stability most of the East Asian countries ch oose the latter. They hold that excessive individualism and democracy will lead to lack of discipline and disorder which give rise to unmarried teenage mothers, drug addiction and street violence and the high crime rate. They hope to strike a balance between democracy and discipline, between individual rights and socia l rights. The difference on the concept of value is vast between the United States a nd East Asia. It is wrong for the United States, a postª²industrial society, to i mpose its value system on East Asian countries which have just come out of feuda l ages. The presumptions are based on the following three points of cognition: a. The value system of a society is deeply rooted in its cultural traditio ns; b. The development of the value system of a society is compatible with its social development; c. Any change of such a system calls for time. Robert D. Kaplan warned against the missionary zeal of the United States i n establishing multiª²party systems in the third world countries. He said, ¡°Its r ote prescription for undeveloped and newly ¬ðliberated¬ð nations ¡ª elections wi t hin one year, followed by stability ¡ª is more likely to lead to chaos than to d emocracy.¡±13 III The United States shall have to overcome its traditional deepª²rooted idea l ism in its approach to East Asian cultural differences. American centrism result s in a guarded, even repugnant attitude from the East Asian countries and region s. This is certainly not conducive to the entry of the United States into East A sia. American centrism will at least give rise to the troubles as follows: 1. It will isolate American culture from the rest of the world and make it stand in confrontation with other civilizations; 2. It will weaken the inherent dynamism of American culture; 3. It will encourage blind optimism at home and make the Americans unaware of its negative factors such as the problems arising from overª²individualism a nd excessive freedom; 4. It will fuel domestic arrogance and complacency which is just one of th e major reasons for the decline and fall of many an empire in history; 5. The political rashness in the style of an American footballer and frequ ent sanctions will trigger the repugnance of East Asian intelligentsia. For exam ple in China, according to a survey in May of 1995 by China Youth News and the C hinese Youth Development Foundation in the wake of the tiresome and annually rep eated debate on China¬ðs MFN status, the permission by the Unites States of the v isit to America by Lee Tengª²hui, the obstruction by the United States to the en t ry of China into the WTO and economic sanctions, the respondents who have no goo d opinion of America account for 57.2% and those who rank the United States as t he most unfriendly country account for an overwhelming majority of 87.1%. The di fference of opinions is not great between people with different educational back grounds though people with postª²graduate education and above show markedly less repugnance against the United States than those with university education and lo wer. The survey says that more people feel that the Unites States is turning to contain China from becoming a prosperous, rich and strong country. It says, ¡°So m e of the respondents note that they become more aware of American hegemonism and come to sympathize with the small and weak nations when the Unites States pract ises an interventionist policy in the postª²cold war world.¡± The survey by the Re search Center of Chinese Youth in June to October of 1994 showed that 31.3% resp ondents think that the Unites States is the most unfriendly nation to China. The percentage jumped by 25.9% in the 1995 survey. The China Youth News commented ¡° As China is a great nation with a history of 5,000 years, its brilliant civiliza tion has its own value system and identity. It is a natural reaction of the Chin ese youth to the unfriendly activity of a nation, and showed an awareness of Chi nese assertiveness.¡±14 A survey among 2,000 young people in Beijing, Shanghai, Shandong, Sichuan, Anhui and Jiangsu from November through December of 1995 by the Chinese Youth R esearch Center shows that 83.8% of the young respondents say that the Unites Sta tes is illª²intentioned in its criticism of human rights status in China. Among t he university students the percentage rises to as high as 89.3%, considerably hi gher than the working youths (72.2%). 86.9% of the respondents believe that Amer ican criticism of human rights is virtually interfering with China¬ðs internal p o licy. The figure runs as high as 91.8% among the university students, higher tha n the young workers (79.9%).15 To deal well with the cultural challenges in East Asia, the United States has to have a mature and consistent strategy which focuses on acknowledging the cultural differences and works to narrow such cultural differences. So, the Unit ed States has to take heed of the points as follows: 1. The United States shall have to separate ideology from trade and deª²po l iticize the human rights issue. Constant threats of sanctions based on differenc es over valueª²related questions will only bring negative effects. They will hur t the mind of the elites of a nation in particular as I have elaborated above. Fo r instance in China, the annual review of China¬ðs MFN status on the basis of Am e rican ideas on human rights, among other things, is fairly hurting to the Chines e. It is imperative, I presume, for American pragmatism to meet and accommodate Chinese pragmatism ¡ª a common ground ¡ª for better relations in the 21st centur y just as the Chinese describe it as ¡°from a strategically higher plane¡±. Prag ma tism is part and parcel of American value. It should heartily accommodate Chines e pragmatism (seeking truth from facts), the soul of Chinese reform, to exclude all kinds of problems arising from cultural differences on their way to better r elations. 2. The United States shall have to establish a formal doubleª²deck ¡°super hi ghway¡± (top level and nongovernmental) contact pattern, so to speak, with the E a st Asian countries and regions. The topª²level contact may be in the forms of re g ular forums and political dialogues (including formal and private dialogue) betw een national leaders, members of parliament or cabinet ministers; and the nonª²g o vernmental contact pattern covers bilateral or multilateral meetings and seminar s among social scientists ¡ª the elites of nations involved, to promote mutual u nderstanding and find common basis such as the annual Kettering symposium with t he Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Such a doubleª²deck contact pattern may s e rve as a vehicle to relieve tension, dispel misunderstanding and lubricate the b ilateral relations. David Lampton, the Chairman of the National Committee on Un ited Statesª²China Relations has been well aware of this. He said that it was im p erative to strengthen forums and institutions that link up China, the United Sta tes and the other Asiaª²Pacific countries to promote their mutual understanding, transparency and mutual dependence.16 American former President George Bush e mphasized at an international business conference that exchange of visits betwee n leaders is perhaps very important, and there should be more discussions and le ss confrontation.17 Michel Oksenberg holds that the American and Chinese lead ers shall establish their common understanding through continuous and extensive meetings.18 3. The United States shall have to recognize that all social changes and e volutions hinge on the maturity of the forces in the society itself. It shall ha ve to acknowledge a pluralistic world in cultural views and the sense of value a nd accommodate experimentations in social and political reforms according to the given social, political and traditional scenario of a society. The success or f ailure of these experimentations alike will be of positive importance to enrichi ng the human culture and the understanding of mankind. Political scientists ar e well aware that the current Western democracy has its own flaws and is not perfe ct. There is an erratic view in the U.S.A., i.e. the soª²called Wilsonism. This t raditional attitude of foreign policy shows that the United States wishes the ot her countries will adopt the Americanª²styled pattern of democratic administrati o n. It maintains that all countries shall have to copy its system and all societi es will evolve naturally and historically into a democratic society like in Amer ica. Such a mentality makes it impossible for the United States to accept the pl uralist principle and the fact that other social forms and cultures may have som e vitality and dynamism. Here appears a special politicoª²cultural phenomenon, i . e., the pluralist America can not accept a pluralist world. East Asia is traditi onally pluralist with the coª²existence of Buddhism (Mahayana and Hinayana, the G reat and Little Vehicle) and Islamism. Indonesia with the biggest population of Islam believers and Malaysia with the most successful economy are all in East As ia. The pluralist East Asia is undoubtedly a challenge to Angloª²Saxon Christian America in terms of ideas and practice. 4. It is important to recognize that the social development in East Asia c alls for an evolutionary process. Foreign investment and trade not only brings c apital but also new ideas. Only when such new ideas are merged with local cultur e can they help promote the progress of local society and politics. According to the study by Yoichi Funabashi, most Asian political leaders maintain that the m ost desirable mode of democratization emerges spontaneously from economic growth , which sparks political consciousness among a middle class.19 Kishore Mahbu bani holds, ¡°The explosion of twoª²way trade and investment cannot leave the tw o cultural universes across the Pacific intact. Over time a fusion will take place . When such fusion is perceived by the American body politic as positive and rei nvigorating, it will strengthen America¬ðs commitment to the region¬ðs security. ¡±20 Economic liberalization will give birth to a prosperous and liberal mid dle ª²class and trigger off a change in East Asia¬ðs agricultural society and in the p erception of value, laying a foundation for more open and wider representative p olitics. In terms of confidence building measures (cbms), the best framework is the APEC, through which trade fusion will lead to cultural fusion. I believe tha t this is the pattern in which America will be able to enter East Asia culturall y. 5. The United States should try to find common ground in the perception of value and will not impose its own perception of value on others. When Bill Clinton administration first entered the White House, it made ¡° p romotion of democracy¡± as one of the three pillars in its foreign policy. Antho n y Lake, the National Security Advisor, further expounded in September of 1993 th e strategy of enlargement as America¬ðs foreign policy point of departure in a w orld without a clearly defined order. In his opinion, it is surely the strategy of enlargement that may substitute the strategy of containment. he said that the strategy of enlargement means enlarging the free society composed of democracie s that practise free market economy. The core of the strategy of enlargement is to expand the influence of American democracy. This is an outspoken manifestatio n of Wilsonism in American foreign policy. In the early period, the Bill Clinton administration did not have a very c lear idea about the difference between American civilization and East Asian civi lization. Its East Asia policy, especially its China policy, lacked consistency and longª²term strategic consideration. It was pieceª²meal oft with an individua l incident affecting the whole scenario of relations between East Asia and America , the scenario of relations between China and America in particular. It was bent on making use of all possible means to play arbitrarily its leading role and pr omote Americanª²style democracy in the world. It took no heed of cultural and so c ial differences. It failed to recognize that each country must try to find its o wn way, based on the history, economic situation and culture of each. Some American scholars pointed out that it is very dangerous for America t o bring open pressure to bear on others by linking such problems as labor, envir onment and human rights with possible trade sanctions. In a recent TV interview, Bill Clinton expressed his agreement with such views. The United States should know how to walk in steps with East Asia and in the East Asian way in the latter ¬ðs endeavor to march towards its goal. For the United States, it is very import a nt to try to cooperate with, instead of confronting, other nations and develop m ultilateral relations. Harry Harding criticized the antagonistic style of American diplomacy whic h, he said, makes the United States appear like an international babyª²sitter if not a despot. He maintains that the Clinton administration should adopt a practi cal policy on the matter of human rights in Asia. He believes that economic sanc tions are ineffective and counterª²productive. He suggests that some other measu r es as expanding academic and cultural interflow, enhancing international radio b roadcasts, encouraging nonª²governmental organizations and supporting the market ª² oriented reforms be adopted. I think what Harry Harding suggests is the correct way for the fusion between American culture and East Asian culture. 6. The United States should learn from East Asian civilization. Wise Ameri can scholars have discerned the structural deficiencies in American civilization and believe that to make up for such structural deficiency, American civilizati on must draw on wisdom from East Asian civilization in the 21st century. They sh ow particular interest in the ¡°cultural equilibrium¡± or cultural harmony in Ea st Asia and maintain that America should learn how to strike a balance between rug ged individualism and group needs and between materialism and spirit and between discipline and freedom. Just as David Popenoe points out that the United States could find many more commonalities with East Asia through joint consideration o f social change and changing values, East and West. He believes that the overª²i n dividualistic Unites States has moved too far from social order and cultural har mony. He holds that as Asia moves toward somewhat greater individualism, perhaps the United States will adjust, at least slightly, toward more ¡°collective valu e s.¡±21 This is a mutual adaptation and accommodation and a more rational beha v ior in the interaction of human civilizations. In this process there is no room for clashes of civilizations. George Bush, the former U.S. president, said in a speech at a Citibank seminar in Hong Kong that the Americans often say what othe rs may learn from them and talk much about the free market and its democratic sy stem. However, he added, the world is changing and when power and financial stre ngth is diffused, the Americans should and must learn from the Asians. He conclu ded that it is precisely what is the most hopeful of the time.22 In a word, the United States will be able to have good relations with East Asia only when it is ready and fully recognizes the differences between East As ian civilization and American civilization. Notes 1USIA Washington Bulletin, October 24, 1994. 2USIA New York Bulletin, November 1, 1994. 3USIA Washington Bulletin, November 4, 1994. 4Ronald Brown, speech at the Luncheon of the Asian Annual Meeting in New Y ork on November 1, 1993. 5Kishore Mahbubani,¡°The Pacific Way,¡± Foreign Affairs, Janua ry/February 1995, p.100. 6ibid. 7Yoichi Funabashi, ¡°The Asianization of Asia.¡± Foreign Affairs, November/December 1993, p.79. 8Kishore Mahbubani, op. cit. p.107 9The Institute of Sociology, CASS, Study on the Generational Evoluti ons of the Concepts of Value of Chinese Youth (Beijing Publishing House, 1993), p.128. 10USIA Bulletin, ¡°Backgrounder: U.S. Policy on Human Rig hts,¡± May 20, 1996. 11Study on the Generational Evolutions of the Concepts of Value of Chinese Youth, p.140. 12David Hitchcock, Asian Values & the Unites States, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, (Washington D.C., 1994), p.22. 13International Herald Tribune, January 1, 1996. 14Chinese Youth News, July 22, 1995; the survey by the Chinese Youth and Yo ungsters Research Center was carried in Chinese Youth News, January 21, 1995, p.2. 15Wu Luping, ¡°The U.S.A. in the Eyes of Chinese Youth,¡± Chines e Youth News, May 11, 1996. 16Christian Science Monitor, February 21 of 1995. 17AP news dispatch from Beijing on September 11, 1995 18Washington Post, September 3 of 1995. 19Yoichi Funabashi, op. cit. p.76. 20Kishore Mahbubani, op.cit., p.108. 21Requoted from David Hitchcock, Asian Values and the United Sta tes, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, (Washington D.C.) , pp.28-29. 22Speech at the Citibank seminar on November 17, 1993.