Smile if you must, but please don't bow
by George Jonas
National Post
December 5, 2009
How to be charming in China? A democratic leader having to visit a dictatorship is somewhat like a temperance preacher obliged to tour a distillery. He can't be too charming without compromising his principles (and offending his constituency) yet unless he's somewhat charming, there's no point in going at all.
This, in a nutshell, is Stephen Harper's dilemma.
Let me revise this. For others, it may be a dilemma. For Harper, it's only a task. He brings considerable experience to it. Years of walking a tightrope should serve Canada's prime minister well, and so far it has.
For instance, when Premier Wen Jiabao chided him for taking his time before visiting (read: paying obeisance to) the capitalist upgrade of Communist China, Harper resisted the temptation to reply: "I missed you, too, old chap, but I've a country to run. Unlike you, I can't have the police run it for me."
Another person -- me, for instance -- may not have been able to stop himself. It's just as well that Harper does the travelling for Canada and people like me do the sniping. The other way around could be a disaster.
But letting the Chinese premier get away with his rebuke would also have been an error. Harper has been balancing on the high wire too long to make that kind of mistake. He promptly replied that the Chinese leadership hasn't visited Canada in five years either, reminding his host that obeisance is a two way street. As a response to a Far Eastern opening gambit, even an old Chinahand couldn't have done better.
Our leader is conducting a charm offensive. That's what state visits are supposed to be, for if they aren't, they're pointless if not counterproductive. We don't need to spend millions (all state visits cost millions) to be censorious about the human rights record of President Hu Jintao's hybrid realm. Whether a cozy relationship with Hu and Wen and the rest of Beijing's masters is necessary or just nauseating -- opinions are divided -- cooling it can be achieved without burning tons of fossil fuel. A prime minister can be censorious at no cost to taxpayers by simply staying home.
The Chinese certainly thought Harper was being censorious when he chose not to attend the Beijing Olympics. The umbrage they took persists. State-directed media allude to Harper having "cold-shouldered" China before his current visit, expressing the hope that he has become more pragmatic with age.
For those Canadian readers who think of Harper as the personification of pragmatism, Chinese media comments seem amusing. So, you think our prime minister is too rigid, eh, fellows? Too unbending, maybe even too -- perish the thought -- principled? Funny, in this country many think he's flexible to a fault.
I'd be the last person to suggest that a prime minister should flaunt his unbending principles during a charm offensive. Trading with strongmen may be pragmatic; not trading with them may be principled, but trading and griping is only hypocritical. When a national leader moves from production into sales, as it were, and goes to pitch his country aboard, all one can ask of him is to conduct his charm offensive within the boundaries of good taste.
Those boundaries are hard to define, but many feel U.S. President Barack Obama crossed them recently when he bowed to the ground before the astounded Emperor of Japan, who seemed unsure whether to crack up or jump aside in case his distinguished visitor toppled over him. I don't think Canadians need to worry about Harper wagging his tail or peeing all over the Forbidden City like a puppy. We don't even need to worry about him pulling a "Viva Castro" as Pierre Elliott Trudeau did during his charm offensive in Cuba.
Harper's Liberal predecessor justified his outburst by saying everybody shouted "Viva Castro" in Havana. On this basis, Trudeau would presumably have shouted "Heil Hitler" on a visit to the Third Reich. Whatever people may be shouting in Beijing, the likelihood of Harper going "Heil Hu" is negligible. Chances are he'll conduct his homage to reality with some decorum.
What reality? Take your pick. Canada exported $10.3 billion worth of goods to China in 2008. China is our second largest trading partner by merchandise volume, although our imports exceed exports by a wide margin. About 40,000 students from China study at Canadian schools and universities. Approximately 1.4 million Canadians are of Chinese ancestry. Chinese follows English and French as the third language spoken by most people in Canada. We do have ties, for better or worse.
As negotiations started this week, China agreed to extend "approved destination status" to Canada. It means Chinese tourism agencies will be allowed to market Canadian destinations. The Chinese let Harper take credit for this, making Canada a gift of what they no doubt decided themselves.
Bullies are as sensitive as vestal virgins, but ultimately Beijing's leaders will just act in their perceived interest. This is something to remember before getting carried away kissing their ass, which they may regard as nothing more than lip service anyway.