One thing I have always appreciated about Obama is the fact that he is open-minded, culturally sensitive, and willing to listen and adapt. If you look at the way he has dealt with people and foreign leaders, you’ll quickly notice a very strong contrast from the way the President Bush dealt with them.
A brilliant example of this comes from his speech in Cairo a few months back. Not only was the content relevant, but he touched on some key cultural and religious ideas that enabled him to connect with the audience on a new level. Commentators around the country were calling it one of the best speeches by a US president to the Middle East ever. If you have not seen it, do yourself a favor and check it out!
Fast Forward to the US-China Strategic and Economic dialogue. Obama, Clinton and Geithner all used Chinese phrases when addressing their Chinese guests (Geithner was East Asian Studies at SAIS and spent some time in China, so not as big of a deal for him). Using Chinese proverbs and quotes from citizens, the three leaders showed how the two countries needed to work together.
Let’s start with Obama. He did something that he does best – reach to the locals by using their language (and in this case, I don’t mean Mandarin). When discussing recent events, Obama quoted one off the most famous people in China: NBA star Yao Ming. He pointed out that Yao said, “no matter whether you are a new or an old team member, you need time to adjust to one another.”
In Hillary’s speech, she quoted the Chinese proverb that reads, “when people are of one mind and heart, they can move Mount Tai.” Geithner was more direct, saying the Middle Kingdom and America are “taking the same boat through rain and wind,” as he emphasized the need for the two powers to act together to overcome the financial crisis.
Xinhua
I appreciate this as a a citizen, and from a language and rhetorical perspective. Do I think this is going to lead to groundbreaking changes or improvements? Not really, but there is still a point to be made. The Obama administration seems to have a clearer vision and an open mind. From quoting Koran verses in Egypt, to re-evaluating Americans policy toward Myanmar, I can say that I am pleased with the direction of our foreign policy toward Asia.
That said, I don’t want to come off naive about certain policy issues. As with past Democratic administrations, there are other concerns that Asia is focused on. For China, it is pretty obvious. They own us, and are looking to come out of this economic mess in a good position vis-a-vis the US. In other places, they are concerned about trade, or possible limitations on trade, in the region.
Let’s see how it goes…
-Maltzajava
PS – in a separate ‘language post’, I will include the proverbs (成语) and an explanation of them.
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