An Open Letter to Mayor Giuliani

Last night during the Republican debate in Boca Raton, Mitt Romney asked about how you would handle U.S.-China relations. You responded that you would push for intellectual property protection, enhanced rule of law, and the right to sue in China "so that you can be protected if you’re doing business there." You also said that China could be a boon to the U.S. economy if the Chinese would lower their trade barriers. I'm pretty certain that you will not be the Republican nominee in the general election, so I'm not too worried about some aspects of your response, but I would like to point out that you said nothing original or earth-shattering--you simply re-iterated the foreign policy of the present administration, which some consider to be a general disaster. Moreover, you betrayed a total ignorance of Chinese law when you suggested that U.S. entities and natural persons presently lack the ability to sue in Chinese courts. In short, you don't know what you're talking about, at least as far as China is concerned.

What does worry me, however, is whether one of your victorious peers will likewise focus foreign policy solely on the Middle East while ignoring China. McCain, for his part, seems to have thought about it. Romney sees renegotiation of treaties as a sensible China policy. Ron Paul quixotically thinks that we should have trade barriers, but not link free trade to China's human rights record. On the other side of the aisle, Obama and Clinton have taken action with respect to China's currency policy, with Hillary placing China front and center in her foreign policy agenda., and Obama recycling his "frenenemy" line at every available opportunity. You, on the other hand, seem to only have platitudes to share.

The truth is, barring something major happening, your candidacy seems to be all but over. But I do hope that whomever becomes our next president gives China the attention it deserves, and takes sensible actions with respect to Sino-American relations. As it stands, however, the front-running GOP candidates seem to be out to lunch.