US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was criticized by some members of the human rights community when she said that pressing China on human rights “can’t interfere with the global economic crisis, the global climate change crisis and the security crisis.” Clinton made her comments in February before arriving in China to foster warmer ties between the two powers. Human Rights Watch argued that her statements sent “the wrong message to the Chinese government” and undermined rights reform in the country.
Last week, two events displayed the supposed trade-off. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner travelled to Beijing to seek greater cooperation with China on global finance and climate change. And two days later was the 20th anniversary of the military crackdown in Tiananmen Square. While Geithner’s trip demonstrated the importance of the US-China relationship in tackling international issues, the anniversary served as a reminder that human rights are both essential and intimately connected to all other concerns.
The US government was largely silent on the anniversary of the protests (attention was focused on President Obama’s speech in Cairo), but Clinton called on China to “examine openly the darker events of its past and provide a public accounting of those killed, detained or missing, both to learn and to heal.”
Should human rights take a backseat to other concerns? No. Should human rights be the central message in public remarks? Not always. The United States must work with China to address the Great Recession, limit climate change and, yes, curb the practices of China’s notorious friends.
China still needs to account for the events in Tiananmen and improve civil and political rights at home. International pressure can induce some change, but America’s relationship with China cannot be defined by human rights.
The US does not need to (and shouldn’t) choose between human rights and strengthening the bilateral partnership. Both issues need to be balanced. Focusing exclusively on human rights would be counterproductive, but ignoring and forgetting violations would jeopardize long-term stability.
Photo from Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images.