China envoy a challenger to Obama?
2011-2-2 09:51| 发布者: 编辑2| 查看: 64| 评论: 0
As President, Barack Obama has spent quite a bit of time dealing with the challenge from a rising China. Just last week he was warning about it in his State of the Union address.
Now, though, he may be facing what could arguably be his trickiest China challenge yet, from none other than his own ambassador.
The White House has confirmed that, in a highly unusual move, Jon Huntsman is resigning less than 18 months after he was sent to China.
The speculation thats been doing the rounds for some time in Beijings diplomatic and media circles is that Mr Huntsman is eyeing a possible bid for the White House in 2012.
So hes in the awkward position of already being talked about as a rival for his bosss job.
'One final run'Mr Obama probably hoped that he had dealt with this particular threat long ago, on 21 August 2009 to be precise.
That was the day Jon Huntsman, a rising Republican political star, arrived in Beijing to take up his post as US ambassador. On the same day, White House records show, Mr Obama was heading for the presidential retreat at Camp David.
About Damian GrammaticasIm the BBCs China correspondent. This is where I will share my thoughts on life in this rapidly changing economic giant
The commentators were saying that dispatching Jon Huntsman to the other side of the world was a shrewd move by President Obama, sidelining a formidable political rival. Youd be forgiven for imagining Mr Obama reclining into his seat on Marine One, lifting off from the White House lawn, breathing a small sigh of satisfaction.
Not so fast. On Monday, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Mr Huntsman would "leave sometime in the first part of the year", but he said "nobody knows what the future holds for Ambassador Huntsman".
At the embassy too they are being equally coy. But few ambassadors leave after less than a year and a half in post unless something is afoot.
Mr Huntsmans recent actions have fuelled the speculation. Late last year he was reported to have bought a house, said to be worth more than $3m in a Washington DC suburb.
And in an interview with Newsweek magazine last month, when he was asked about presidential ambitions, the 50-year-old replied, cryptically "we may have one final run left in our bones". The story was headlined not so subtly "The Manchurian Candidate".
So on Monday there was also a gentle warning from Robert Gibbs that Mr Huntsman still has a job to do until his bags are packed.
"The president and, I think, the American people, expect that somebody that holds the post of ambassador from the United States to China would dedicate their full energy and time to that position," he said.
China handMr Huntsman was intimately involved in the 2008 US presidential election as national co-chair of Senator John McCains campaign. He also has deep pockets. His fathers packaging firm came up with the clamshell box used to sell McDonalds Big Mac hamburgers and made billions of dollars.
Some say his Mormon faith may count against him in any election. He has seven children, two of them adopted. So too, they say, could the fact he accepted Barack Obamas offer to become ambassador in Beijing. So will it?
Well China may not have been a big issue in 2008 but it has since become more prominent in Americas politics. The supposed threat to US jobs from China, the trade deficit, the charge that China is manipulating its currency, all added up to make China an issue in last years Congressional elections.
Depending on the state of the US recovery, the level of US unemployment and the relative strength of Chinas economy, it could still be one in 2012.
Ironically too President Obamas decision to appoint Jon Huntsman may turn out to have helped a potential rival burnish his credentials. Mr Huntsman was undeniably well qualified to be ambassador to Beijing.
Hes fluent in Mandarin Chinese, hed been an ambassador already, to Singapore, a US Trade Representative dealing with China, and a successful Republican Governor of Utah who was re-elected in November 2008 with almost 80% of the vote.
To that list he can now add the fact that he has held one of Americas most important overseas diplomatic positions and has first-hand experience of dealing with the real China challenge, one of the most important tasks for any future American president.
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