Is China 'Frustrated' With The U.S.?

U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel greets Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, April 9, 2014. DOD photo by Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo

During Hagel Visit, China Showed Its Military Might, and Its Frustrations -- New York Times

ULAN BATOR, Mongolia — When Robert M. Gates visited China in 2011 as the United States defense secretary, the military greeted him with an unexpected and, in the view of American military officials, provocative test of a Chinese stealth fighter jet, a bold show of force that stunned the visiting Americans and may even have surprised the Chinese president at the time, Hu Jintao.

When Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel visited China this week, the military greeted him with a long-sought tour of the country’s lone aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, in what many American officials interpreted as a resolve to project naval power, particularly in light of recent tension between Beijing and its neighbors over disputed islands in the East and South China Seas.

The displays of China’s military power reveal some dividends from years of heavy investments, and perhaps a sense that China is now more willing to stand toe-to-toe with the Americans, at least on regional security issues.

But American officials and Asia experts say the visits also showed a more insecure side of China’s military leadership — a tendency to display might before they are ready to deploy it, and a lingering uncertainty about how assertively to defend its territorial claims in the region.

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My Comment: I do not agree with this New York Time's analysis on U.S. China relations. The Chinese have always viewed the U.S. as a country that they want to emulate .... not to be frustrated with. They want the same economic clout and benefits, the same social and environmental conditions, the same standard of living, and a military that is secured and prepared to protect Chinese interests. I saw this view point on my first visit to China in the mid 1980s .... and I still see it today. What is changing is China's relationships with it's immediate neighbors .... Chinese territorial assertions are raising hackles everywhere, and the Chinese are not backing them. But in regards to the U.S. .... the Chinese are not going to change. Their long view approach towards the U.S. has served their interests well in the past 20 years .... and I expect that this policy of engagement and growth to continue for next 20 years .... if not longer.