Obama's recent visit to China highlights "the Obama style of showing respect" (National Security Council's spokesman, Michael A. Hammer), and, as one article notes, a foreign policy "rooted in recasting the United States as a thoughtful listener to friends and rivals alike." Robert Gibbs, the White House spokesman, puts Obama's foreign policy in contrast with previous attempts of "[pounding] our chest a lot" which "hasn't worked in the last 16 years" of American relations with China. But this change in the American presidency's approach to other countries comes at a time when U.S.'s position relative to China is also changing, which is all the better for China but not so good news for U.S.

Had the change in presidential approach come earlier while U.S. still had considerable clout and the financial robustness to support its policies, it would have shown that U.S. can be aggressive and demanding, but that it chose not to. As a result, the gesture could have lent more authenticity and value to U.S.'s willingness to listen. But now that China has risen this far, the current climate serves to undercut the effectiveness of this fundamental change in American foreign policy. To onlookers today, it would seem as though U.S. changed its stance not out of its own initiative but because it had to accommodate for a more powerful China.

The lack of impact in terms of appearances notwithstanding, Obama's first visit to China suggests that playing nice with China may very well be in vain. The White House haggled to bring in popular Chinese bloggers to Obama's "town hall" in Shanghai staged by China, but the Chinese government barred them from coming. Also, unlike former presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush who demanded and were granted opportunities to directly address the Chinese and have it nationally broadcasted, the current White House had to make do with a thoroughly scripted and highly insulated "town hall" in Shanghai, about which "a third of some 40 Beijing university students interviewed Tuesday were unaware." In the end, U.S. walked away without getting very much from China, and as one article notes, the visit underscores "a fast-rising China more willing to say no to the United States."

Although White House officials stress that "Mr. Obama's method would yield more in the long term," Obama's visit makes one wonder just how realistic that view is. If U.S. continues to grow weaker relative to China, it will become even more difficult for U.S. make demands. We may soon come to a point where U.S. can no longer assume the role of big brother or even a partner to China, and may have to "beg" China. Given this trajectory, it is unlikely that in the future, U.S. will be able to win significant concessions from China without giving equally or if not more in exchange.

While such a future may be long in coming, the possibility should nonetheless propel the U.S. to act with urgency. This is not the time for the U.S. to be leisurely biding its time for some future breakthrough. It is imperative that the U.S. finds a way around China's stubbornness soon if it wants to bargain with China effectively while it is still a recognizably strong player on the international stage.