The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2019

10 JULY-AUGUST 2019 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL LETTER FROM THE EDITOR Facing a Rising China BY SHAWN DORMAN C hina looms large today. This is a year of China-related anniver- saries. In October 1949, 70 years ago, the Chinese Communist Party established the People’s Republic of China following the defeat of the Chiang Kai-shek Nationalist government. It has been 60 years since the March 1959 Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule. China cracked down, and the Dalai Lama fled to India where he maintains a government in exile. In January 1979, 40 years ago, the United States and PRC established formal diplomatic relations. It was 30 years ago, June 1989, amid student-led democracy demonstrations, that Chinese troops fired on protesters in Tiananmen Square, killing hundreds and sparking a broad crackdown across the country that still reverberates. Today U.S. foreign policy is shifting away from all-hands-on-deck for the Global War on Terrorism to “great power competition” with a rising China. U.S. relations with China are strained by the abandonment of diplomacy, which has been replaced most visibly by U.S. presidential tweets, tariffs and a trade war. In June, Xi Jinping called Putin his new best friend. The authors we hear from this month all independently agree on one point: We need diplomacy, and nothing good comes from not talking to an adversary, or a friend. When Susan Thornton—who Shawn Dorman is the editor of The Foreign Service Journal. served as acting assistant secretary for East Asian and Pacific affairs (2017- 2018) and as principal deputy assistant secretary for EAP before that—agreed to write for our China focus, I knew this edition would be consequential. She asks the provocative question: “Is Amer- ican Diplomacy with China Dead?” and shares her views on what’s gone wrong and why the United States must engage strategically with the PRC. William Reinsch, a trade expert and senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, lays out the costs and the challenges of doing business with China in “U.S.-China Trade: If We Get to Yes, Will It Make Any Difference?” He urges the United States to take a multilat- eral approach to facing today’s challenges. In “Dealing with the Dragon, ” Philip Shull, a retired Foreign Agricultural Ser- vice FSO, offers an inside look at how to understand China, measuring our expec- tations based on knowledge of China’s history and worldview. Former Treasury Secretary Henry Paul- son Jr. tells us that the U.S.-China relation- ship will shape the geopolitical landscape for this century, and that Foreign Service work in China will be particularly impor- tant. Relevant and even timely excerpts from the FSJ Archives— from 1922 through 2012—round out the focus. Our feature, “The Language of Dress” by freelance journalist Martha Thomas, steps into the space where diplomacy and fashion meet in Washington, D.C. (who knew?). We are pleased to share the seventh edition of “Message from the Hill, ” and can all take much pride, and even comfort, in knowing that many members of Congress from both parties understand the value of diplomacy and the role of the U.S. Foreign Service—and they want to speak to our community. This month we hear from Representative Ann Wagner (R-Mo.). In Speaking Out, American Academy of Diplomacy President Ron Neumann presents the recommendations from AAD’s new report, “Strengthening the Department of State,” arguing that per son- nel reforms might just work this time. He introduces a proposed pilot project on Civil Service reform. We welcome your feedback on these proposals. We will bid farewell in mid-July to the 2017-2019 Governing Board and to two-term AFSA President Ambassa- dor Barbara Stephenson. It has been a privilege to work with Barbara, who took AFSA’s role as the voice of the Foreign Service to new heights. Through her leadership, Amb. Ste- phenson bolstered a community and an institution shaken by the purging of the senior ranks and marginalization of diplomacy, and took the case for diplo- macy funding to a receptive Congress. She has used the President’s Views column in a way few others have to lay out a strong vision for AFSA and for the Foreign Service, a vision of strength and stewardship. We welcome Ambassador Eric Rubin as the new AFSA president, confident that he is the right person in the right place at the right time. n