Asia

Economy and Nuclear Negotiations

“The United States and China will need to cooperate effectively together on both regional and global challenges...some say America's commitment to democracy will preclude long-term cooperation with China " (//Zoellick).// This quote sets the stage for what is going on between China and the United States. China, being a Communist country, has poor relations with the United States. President Bush was concerned about the Chinese military, and called for more freedom in China. His efforts did not improve the relationship between China and the U.S. The United States also had issues with the Chinese economy, because the yuan's value was much smaller than the United States demanded.

North Korea was also a concern for the United States, but after two years of constant diplomatic pressure, North Korea agrees to give up nuclear weapons and all efforts to build more. In exchange, the United States promises not to attack North Korea, and to provide international aid to North Korea's struggling economy. In September, 2005, the "Six-Party Talks" on nuclear negotiations occurred between China, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, and the United States. However, it could take months, or even years to put these negotiations into effect, and further negotiations are still needed. In November, 2005, a follow-up negotiation concerning nuclear weapons was held, however, it accomplished very little, since the six countries involved do not fully trust each other.

In order to improve relations with Asia, the United States must be willing to trust the countries involved, and in return, the other countries must trust the United States. This will be very difficult to accomplish, since the government leader of these countries have very different perspectives on how to approach nuclear negotiations. Bill Richardson, Governor of New Mexico, addressed the United State's relations with Asia, "[b]oth Asians and non-Asians will make decisions in the coming years that determine whether our future is one of common endeavor or of geo-political tension" (Richardson). In Richardson's speech, he suggested that in order to obtain better relations with Asia, we must lead them towards a more balanced, multi-polar security, and we must improve human rights in Asia. The United States has made progress by directly engaging with North Korea; this is a step towards a nuclear-free Korea.