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Noninterference Isn’t “Giving In” to An Authoritarian Government

Another part of Adam Elkus’ article on the U.S.-Chinese “trust gap” puzzled me: But few have warned Beijing of the potential domestic costs American politicians face during U.S.-China normative diplomatic crises. Loss of face isn’t just a Chinese cultural issue. American presidents that are perceived to give into autocracies risk political embarrassment [bold mine-DL]. Well, […]

Another part of Adam Elkus’ article on the U.S.-Chinese “trust gap” puzzled me:

But few have warned Beijing of the potential domestic costs American politicians face during U.S.-China normative diplomatic crises. Loss of face isn’t just a Chinese cultural issue. American presidents that are perceived to give into autocracies risk political embarrassment [bold mine-DL].

Well, it depends on what the president is perceived to be giving up. If critics can credibly point to substantive concessions on matters related to the security of the U.S. or of an ally or client, a president will certainly suffer some political damage. That is true no matter what type of government another country has. Something like the Chen case doesn’t fall into the same category. This sort of case might be a short-term political headache for an administration, and it certainly has been that for Obama, but any American president will be helped by the fact that these cases concern Chinese internal affairs. At worst, “giving in” to an authoritarian regime* would mean that the U.S. has failed to dictate to China how it is supposed to act inside its borders. Partisan opponents may opportunistically attack an administration in response, but it is doubtful that there would be much political fallout at home because of this.

* One-party bureaucratic states are not autocracies, and it doesn’t make sense to call them this.

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