Hillary Clinton’s questioned Rudd ‘how can we stand up to Beijing?’: Wikileaks

WASHINGTON - Secret cables released by the whistleblower website ‘WikiLeaks’ have revealed that US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had revealed America’s deep anxiety over China’s growing economic power and hold on US finances by asking Australia’s then Prime Minister as to how he dealt with his banker.

China is the largest holder of US treasury bonds, with around 870 billion dollars.

The Guardian quoted the secret cable as saying that Clinton had reportedly questioned Kevin Rudd last march, adding: “The secretary affirmed the US desire for a successful China, with a rising standard of living and improving democracy at a pace Chinese leaders could tolerate… The secretary also noted the challenges posed by China’s economic rise, asking: ‘How do you deal toughly with your banker?’”

Rudd responded by calling himself “a brutal realist on China”, arguing for a policy of “integrating China effectively into the international community and allowing it to demonstrate greater responsibility, all while also preparing to deploy force if everything goes wrong”, the paper said.

He also reportedly described Chinese leaders as “subrational and deeply emotional” on Taiwan, a frequent source of tension with the US.

In a January memo, Jon Huntsman, the US ambassador to China, argued: “Whereas 2009 was a year to build the US-China relationship, 2010 will be a year that tests it.

“Ten per cent US unemployment coupled with our huge trade deficit with China, China’s increasing use of industrial policies to restrict market access, and an undervalued RMB (Yuan), will bring greater tension to bilateral ties. The Google case adds fuel to the fire,” he added. (ANI)