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Hillary, Geithner, China

 

The NYT says Hillary Clinton and Tim Geithner, addressing an early point of friction, have reached a deal over handling China:

Speaking of Mr. Geithner, Mrs. Clinton cleared up the question of how the two of them were going to divide China policy. Speculation about who would control China policy has crackled since it became clear she was not ready to cede it to the Treasury Department, as happened during the Bush administration.

Mrs. Clinton said she and Mr. Geithner would share leadership of a high-level consultation between China and the United States that would be balanced between strategic issues like North Korea and economic concerns.

Based on her trip there, human rights will pretty clearly not be a big part of that agenda.

It's interesting to recall, by the way, that in 1992 Bill Clinton vigorously bashed George H.W. Bush for putting economics over human rights in China. From June 3 '92:

“The people of China are still denied their basic rights and liberties," Clinton said, "It is time to put America back on the side of democracy and freedom.”

--Michael Crowley