US tells China to use power responsibly

By Carol Giacomo, Diplomatic Correspondent

NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Robert
Zoellick told China on Wednesday it should take concrete steps
to assure the world it will use its power responsibly and said
Beijing’s approach to Iran would prove its seriousness on
combating nuclear proliferation.

The “essential question” for the United States and the
world was “how will China use its influence” because the answer
would have a profound effect on international development for
years to come, he said.

In a speech for delivery to the National Committee on
U.S.-China Relations, which promotes ties between the two
countries, Zoellick acknowledged that “many Americans worry
that the Chinese dragon will be a firebreather. There is a
cauldron of anxiety about China.”

China must become a “responsible stakeholder” in the
international system that has enabled its success because
“uncertainties about how China will use its power will lead the
United States, and others as well, to hedge relations with
China,” he said.

Noting rising protectionist pressures in America fueled by
a huge trade deficit with China, Zoellick said Beijing “cannot
take access to the U.S. market for granted.”

“The United States will not be able to sustain an open
international economic system –or domestic U.S. support for
such a system — without greater cooperation from China,” the
former U.S. trade representative said.

He also urged China to open its political system, saying
those who believe they can secure the Communist Party’s power
monopoly through economic growth and heightened nationalism
were following a “risky and mistaken” course.

Zoellick, in charge of what Washington calls a new U.S.
strategic dialogue with Beijing, discussed key issues facing
the two powers a week after President George W. Bush met
Chinese President Hu Jintao during the U.N. General Assembly.

Amid rising U.S. concern over China’s growing military,
economic and political clout, Zoellick made a strong argument
for fostering greater cooperation.

“You hear the voices that perceive China solely through the
lens of fear. But America succeeds when we look to the future
as an opportunity, not when we fear what the future might
bring,” he said.

In an apparent reference to suggestions that the United
States seeks closer ties with India as a counterweight to
China, Zoellick said: “We are too interconnected to try to hold
China at arm’s length, hoping to promote other powers in Asia
at its expense.”

“Nor would the other powers hold China at bay,” he added.

Zoelick said China has a strong interest in working with
Washington on halting the spread of weapons of mass destruction
and its “actions on Iran’s nuclear program will reveal the
seriousness of China’s commitment to non-proliferation.”

China has received high marks for hosting six-country
negotiations which this week produced an initial accord on
North Korea’s nuclear programs.

But it has joined Russia in helping to block the U.N.
nuclear watchdog agency from referring concerns about Iran’s
nuclear activities to the U.N. Security Council for possible
sanctions.

Zoellick said China needs to realize how its actions are
perceived. “China’s involvement with troublesome states
indicates at best a blindness to consequences and at worst
something more ominous, he said.

In addition to Iran, the United States is anxious about
China’s ties, mostly spurred by energy needs, with Sudan,
Venezuela, Myanmar and Zimbabwe.