Daniel Glickman: “Tomorrow the country buries Richard Nixon, the President who will be remembered both for his far-sighted foreign policy…”

“Tomorrow the country buries Richard Nixon, the President who will be remembered both for his far-sighted foreign policy and his disastrous involvement in the Watergate scandal. Today I wish to talk for a few minutes about our country's China policy, recognizing that the timing of Mr. Nixon's death provides a unique opportunity to focus the future of United States-China relations. Few would have predicted, 5 years ago, the changes that have reshaped the world. The Berlin Wall is a museum piece; former Warsaw Pact states apply to join NATO, but the cold-war paradigms and 5-year-old memories of Tiananmen Square still define United States-Chinese relations. Ironically, the first post-cold-war administration has yet to articulate a clear post-cold-war policy toward China. The administration correctly elevated Asia to the more prominent position it deserves in U.S. foreign policy. A sampling of the geopolitical landscape illustrates that as important as Tokyo and Seoul are to the United States, the fate of United States-Asian interests will rest on Beijing. China may not be able to dissuade the North Koreans from their nuclear ambitions, but its leverage over North Korea will be essential for defusing the Korean nuclear problem.”