HillaryRodhamClinton
SecretaryofState
InterviewWithYangLanofDragonTV
Beijing, China
February 22, 2009
MS. YANG:ButthisisabeautifulEmbassy.
SECRETARYCLINTON:Isn'tit? Iamsoproudandimpressedbyit. Ittookalongtimetobuild, butitisverybeautifulandveryfunctional. AndthearchitectureisChinese-inspired, soit'sreallyawonderfuladditiontoourembassycommunity.
MS. YANG:Andsoyouaregoingbacktoday, right?
SECRETARYCLINTON:Yes. Ihavetogobacktoday.
MS. YANG:Andjustintimetocelebrateyourdaughter's 29thbirthday.
SECRETARYCLINTON:That'strue. Shewillbe 29 onFriday. AndIamverymuchlookingforwardtoseeingherforabirthdaydinner.
MS. YANG:Okay. Sowhatkindofpathdoyouliketoseehertake? IknowshehasbeenstudyinghealthpolicyandmanagementatColumbia.
SECRETARYCLINTON:That'sright. Ithinksheissomeonewhochartsherownpath, andIamveryimpressedanddelightedatthechoicesthatshehasmade. Ijust, likemostmothers, wanthertobehappyandhaveagoodlife. AndthatisreallyallIwishforher.
MS. YANG:Doessheresembleyouinthewaysthatshedoesthings?
SECRETARYCLINTON:Ithinksheisagoodcombinationofbothherfatherandme. Shehasaverywonderfulpersonality, andsheisahardworker, andsheisagoodfriendandacaringperson. SoIamjustveryhappytobehermother.
MS. YANG:IknowyouhavejusthadadialoguewiththeChinesewomen. Someofthemyouhaveknownfor 11 years. Well, totheyoungergenerationofwomen, likeyourdaughters, whatkindofadvicewouldyouliketogivetothosewhoaspiretosucceedandlead, butcouldbeafraidoffailure?
SECRETARYCLINTON:Well, that'sagoodwayofphrasingthequestion, becauseIthinkthatovercomingyourfears, whetheryou'reayoungwomanorayoungman, tobewillingtotakearisk, totrysomethingdifferent, tofollowyourheart, topursueyourdreams, takesacertainlevelofcourage.
AndIjusttrytotellyoungpeoplewhoaskmeallthetimewhatIthinkaboutthebestwayforwardistobetruetothemselves, youknow, tolistentotheirownheart, todowhatgivesthemjoyinlife, andmeaningintheirpublicandprofessionalcareers. AndIthinkifyoudothat, youmaychange, youmaytakeadifferentpath. Butifyoucankeepfocusedonwhatyoubelieveisimportant, Ithinkthat'sthebestwaytoproceed.
MS. YANG:Let'sgetbacktothistrip. InyourtestimonytotheSenateForeignRelationsCommittee, yousuggestedthatU.S. shouldusesmartpowertohandleinternationalissues. Howisthatapproach, orstrategy, reflectedinyourAsiantrip, especiallyyourtriptoChina?
SECRETARYCLINTON:Well, itisourgoalintheObamaadministrationtoreachouttotherestoftheworldusingeverytoolatourdisposal. IliketotalkaboutthethreeD'sofourforeignpolicy: defense, diplomacy, development.
Wewanttoemphasize, particularly, diplomacyanddevelopment. AndwhatIhavetriedtodointhemonththatIhavehadthispositionistomakeclearthatwewillrepresentanddefendtheinterestsandthesecurityandthevaluesoftheUnitedStates, butwewanttolisten.
Wearedifferentcountriesanddifferentcultures. ChinaandtheUnitedStateshaveverydifferenthistories. Andweneedtounderstandeachotherbettersothatwecanfindmorecommonground. AndIwasencouragedbymytalkswithyourleadership, thatthereareanumberofareaswecanworkontogether.
Weareconstructing, andhaveagreed, inprinciple, toastrategicandeconomicdialoguethatwillnotonlyincludetheeconomiccrisis, whichisveryimportant, thatChinaandAmericaleadonarecovery, globally, butcleanenergyandclimatechange, andmoreeducationalexchanges, andpeople-to-peopleexchanges, moreworkonhealthcare, medicine, science.
Iwanttodeepenandbroadentheconnections, notonlybetweengovernmentofficials, asimportantatthatis, butbetweenallkindsofChineseandAmericans.
MS. YANG:Youknow, formerTreasurySecretaryPaulsonusedtochampiontheU.S.-SinodialogueinthestructureoftheStrategicEconomicDialogue. HaveyouconvincedPresidentObamatolettheStateDepartmenttakebackthereigns? And, ifso, whatkindofnewframeworkofdialoguearewetalkingabout?
SECRETARYCLINTON:Well, wearegoingtohaveacomprehensive, integrateddialogue. Itwillbeco-chairedbymyselfandtheTreasurySecretary, becauseIthinktherewasanawarenessthatourpriorengagementatthedialoguelevel, government-to-government, wasveryheavilydominatedbyeconomicconcerns, andbytraditionalTreasurypriorities. Theyareveryimportantbutthatisnottheonlyhigh-leveldialoguethatneedstooccur.
So, wehavealwayshadalotofinteractionatmanylevelsofourgovernments. Butwhatwewanttodoistointegratethose, andtohaveourtwoPresidents, whentheymeetattheG-20 summitinApril, announcethemechanismthatwewillbepursuingnow.
MS. YANG:Haveyoufoundtheterminologytodefinetherelationshipbetweenourtwocountries? Becauseunderyourhusband'sadministrationwecalledit "constructivestrategicpartnership," andthen, intheBushadministrationwecalledit "stakeholders." Haveyoufoundthenewwordsyet?
SECRETARYCLINTON:Well, I'mnotasinterestedinthewordsasintheactions. Ithinkthatwehaveevolveddramaticallyinourrelationshipoverthe 30 yearsthatwehavehaddiplomaticrelations. ChinahasgrownjustexponentiallyinawaythatisarealtributetothepeopleofChina.
ButwhatwenowneedtodoisdemonstratethattheUnitedStatesandChinacanworkproductivelytogether, notonlyonthoseissuesthatwehavebilateralconcernsover, buttoshowleadershiptotherestoftheworld.
Ifyoujusttaketwomajorissuesconfrontingtheworld, Idon'tthinkit'srealistictoexpectthatwewillseeglobalrecoverywithoutChineseandAmericancooperationandleadership. IknowthatitisnotrealistictoexpectthatwecandealwithglobalclimatechangewithouttheUnitedStatesandChinaworkingtogether.
So, whatwearetalkingaboutisveryconcreteandspecific. Itisnotsomuchthedescription, astherealityandthecontentofwhatwewilldotogetherthatwe'refocusingon.
MS. YANG:Okay. YouquotedChinesestory, (speaksChinese), whichmeans, "Weareinthesameboat" totackleeconomiccrisis.
SECRETARYCLINTON:Yes.
MS. YANG:Yet, atthesametime, the "BuyAmerican" rhetorictriggeredanotherroundoffearofprotectionism. HowwouldtheU.S. governmentreconciletheinternationalresponsibilitywiththedemandofdomesticconstituencies?
SECRETARYCLINTON:Well, PresidentObamawasveryquicktoact, andtomakeclearthatwearenotgoingtoengageinprotectionism. And, withrespecttotheprovisionthatwasinthestimuluspackage, itmustbecompliantwithourinternationalagreements.
WeknowthataroundofprotectionismisnotinAmerica'sinterests. It'simportantthatweworkwithcountrieslikeChina, andothers, toestablishaframeworkforrenewedeconomicgrowthandprosperity.
Now, wealsohaveworktodoathome. Notonlydowehavetostimulateoureconomy, butwehavetobeworkingtoenhanceourmanufacturingbase, workonourautomobileindustry. Sowehavealotofinternaldecision-makingthatisimportanttooureconomicfuture. AndIthinkChinadoes, too. mean, Chinaisstimulatingyoureconomyatthecentralgovernmentlevel. Youarelookingtodealwithproblemslikemigrantworkerswhonolongerhavejobs.
So, weeachhaveourowninternaldomesticchallenges. Butwecannotsolvethoseattheexpenseofgeneratingglobalgrowthagain, whichwillbenefitbothofourpeople.
MS. YANG:Youcertainlyhaveyourhandsfull, withallsortsofchallengesandproblemsaroundtheworld, fromIraqtoGazaStrip, fromnuclearproliferationtoclimatechange. Andthen, ofcourse, theeconomiccrisis.
Howwouldyousetanachievabletargetforyourterm, assecretaryofstate?
SECRETARYCLINTON:Well, it'strue, thatwehavecomeintoofficeatatimeofsomanyproblems. Youmentionedafewofthemostwellknown. Idon'tknowthatwecanpickandchoose. It'soneofthereasonswhyIhaveadvocatedtheappointmentofspecialenvoys, becauseIthinkweneed, astheysay, allhandsondeck. Everyonehastoworkhardtogethertotrytountanglesomeoftheseproblems, tolookforsolutionswherepossible.
So, Idon'thavetheluxuryofsaying, "Iwillonlyworkonthis." Ihavetobeveryconsciousofeverythinggoingonintheworld. ButIdidchoosetocome, formyfirsttrip, toAsia, becauseIwanttosendaclearmessagethattheUnitedStatesisbothatrans-Pacific, aswellasatrans-Atlanticpower, andthatmuchofwhatweseeasthepotentialforpositivegrowthandgoodrelationsinthe 21stcenturywillcomewithAsiancountrieslikeChina.
MS. YANG:Thankyouverymuchforyourtime, althoughitfallsshortofmyquestions. Well, canIsqueezejustonemore?
SECRETARYCLINTON:Sure.
MS. YANG:DoyouthinkthatChinashouldfurtherinvestintoAmericantreasurybonds? Becausethereisadebatehere - withunclearfuture, weshouldstopbuyingmore.
SECRETARYCLINTON:Well, IcertainlydothinkthattheChinesegovernmentandthecentralbankhereinChinaismakingaverysmartdecisionbycontinuingtoinvestintreasurybondsfortworeasons.
First, becauseit'sagoodinvestment. It'sasafeinvestment. Evendespitetheeconomicchallengessweepingovertheworld, theUnitedStateshasawell-deservedfinancialstabilityreputation.
And, secondly, becauseoureconomiesaresointertwined. TheChineseknowthat, inordertostartexportingagaintoitsbiggestmarket, namely, theUnitedStates, theUnitedStateshastotakesomeverydrasticmeasureswiththisstimuluspackage, whichmeanswehavetoincurmoredebt.
ItwouldnotbeinChina'sinterestifwewereunabletogetoureconomymovingagain. So, bycontinuingtosupportAmericantreasuryinstruments, theChinesearerecognizingourinterconnection. Wearetrulygoingtoriseorfalltogether. Weareinthesameboat. And, thankfully, wearerowinginthesamedirection, towardlandfall.
MS. YANG:Okay. Sowehavetokeeprowing?
SECRETARYCLINTON:Yes.
MS. YANG:Thankyouverymuch, SecretaryClinton.
SECRETARYCLINTON:Thankyou.