US President Barack Obama leaves legacy of deeper engagement with China
Continuing a series of stories on China’s relations with other G20 members ahead of next month’s G20 summit, the South China Morning Post looks at US President Barack Obama’s track record, what he’s likely to discuss with President Xi Jinping in Hangzhou and what to expect from the next US president
When US President Barack Obama leaves the White House in January, Beijing is very likely to hail him as an “old friend of the Chinese people” (OFCP), an accolade also bestowed on many of his predecessors.
It’s a semi-official title awarded by Chinese leaders or the state-controlled media to honour foreigners who have been long-time acquaintances or who have made outstanding contributions to the improvement of bilateral ties. Previous American OFCPs from the political sphere include former secretary of state Henry Kissinger and presidents Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush.
We have fundamentally different interpretations of our own rights
Obama will surely top them all when it comes to the number of meetings with his Chinese counterparts in his eight years in office.
The G20 summit in Hangzhou from September 3 to 4 will be his ninth meeting with President Xi Jinping since Xi became head of state in 2013. Obama even topped that in his first term in office, from 2009 to 2013, meeting Xi’s predecessor, Hu Jintao, 12 times, with six of those encounters at G20 summits, which were originally biannual events.
This will also be his third visit to China as US president, following state visits in 2009 and 2014. Add 2014’s separate “first lady tour” by wife Michelle Obama and their two daughters and the Obama family will equal the record set by George W. Bush, the US president who made the most China trips while in office.
