Worst... power-politics symbolism.... ever

Posted By Daniel W. Drezner Monday, April 13, 2009 - 3:06 AM Share

This is just embarrassing.

Hat tip: James Fallows.

EXPLORE:INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, CHINA, SOFT POWER, UNITED STATES

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DJUHA

6:02 AM ET

April 13, 2009

I was at World Expo 2000 in

I was at World Expo 2000 in Hanover and the US didn't have a pavilion there either.

I did visit the Chinese pavilion then and the most interesting part was a mock-up of their planned mission to the moon, complete with a little rover that was a total rip-off of the American rover that arrived on Mars in 1997.

The symbolism was apparent then as now: China is eternally obsessed with empty symbolism but unable to come up with anything original while the US apparently had other useless things to waste money on.

These things are glorified art projects, but here's hoping the Chinese put on as good of a show as they did with the opening ceremonies of the Olympics.

DON S

9:31 PM ET

April 14, 2009

I visited the Expo 2000 website....

It was interesting, but I could not see much of a commercial purpose there. It all seemed to be a series of
themes.

US participation in this kind of thing has been seen as a commercial benefit, not primarily a diplomatic purpose. In past years a consortium of very large and stable companies would have underwritten the US pavilion in China. Corporate giants like GM (ahem), Citibank, Morgan, Eastman Kodak, Xerox, AT&T, Worldcom, IBM, Nortel, etc.

There aren't many of them left. The only two left standing are AT&T (owned by a former subsidiary and a mere shadow of it's former self) and IBM, which had a near-death experience at the beginning of the 90's. Many or that list are near death today.

OK. Let's consider the expo. It needs a compelling commercial purpose. Perhaps exports to China will do? Well, probably not. In December China's imports fell almost twice as fast as it's exports (-49% to -26% give or take). Year to year figures. The yuan is held artificially low by Chinese government policy. Export markets look bare everywhere but none so bare as China's at the moment.

So what else, prestige? Prestige don't pay the bills, so it falls under the State Department after all. It can't rightly be called economic stimulus because the money would be spent in China. It would be seen as putting on the dog while taxpayers were being foreclosed out of their houses - rightly so in my judgement. So it probably won't happen, or if it does the pavilion will be made of Lego and manned by the State Department.

BLUE13326

8:54 AM ET

April 13, 2009

It would be perfect symbolism

It would be perfect symbolism if China does end up loaning us the money for it.

KENNETH SORENSEN

3:23 PM ET

April 13, 2009

This is small beer

The US are perfectly entitled to ignore this event if it wants. What did Great Britain do in Chicago in 1893? Where they just wild entusiastic? This is what you need to compare it to. And after all China is a communistic country and not 'one of us'.

Instead we here withness a jewish architect called Metz from California -- keen to get some government financed contract -- striking a cord with this New Yorker called Drezner.

ARTHUR

10:15 PM ET

April 13, 2009

Who cares? I mean, really,

Who cares? I mean, really, who cares?

A.S.

10:52 PM ET

April 13, 2009

Who cares.

Ditto the above.

Who gives a crap about a worlds fair? Completely useless.

This doesn't show anything except that the entire US business community thinks the same exact way I do about a worlds fair.

A.S.

10:56 PM ET

April 13, 2009

On second thought...

Why exactly are the Chinese so desperate to get the US to attend?

In fact, maybe this DOES say something about power politics -- just the exact *opposite* of what Dan thinks it says.

Apparently, the Chinese are so desperate to be in the US's presence that, not only are they *begging* us to attend something apparently every company (other than 3M) in the country thinks is useless, but the Chinese will actually *pay us* to attend the damned thing.

It's not pathetic that the US can't find any companies willing to spend money on the fair. It's pathetic that China is willing to fund our appearance!

Seems to me that Dan has the power politics here backwards.

BRETT

10:43 AM ET

April 14, 2009

It's a recession, Dan. We've

It's a recession, Dan. We've all gotta tighten our belts, cut back the fat, and compete through pavilions instead of massive, multi-sport-events-that-nobody-ever-watches-anywhere-else.