Hi, all. Today's report features:
• Weekly Address: The President calls on Congress and all Americans to debate our differences vigorously but in a spirit of common cause.
• Martin Luther King, Jr. Day: Progress on the monument to Dr. King; the President and his administration participate in a National Day of Service; President's Proclamation of the Martin Luther King, Jr., Federal Holiday.
• Remembering Richard Holbrooke: The President, President Clinton, and Secretary of State Clinton speak at a service for Richard Holbrooke.
• US-China relations: Secretary of State Clinton discusses the Obama administration's vision of U.S. China relations for the 21st century.
• US-China commercial relations: Commerce Secretary Locke discusses leveling the playing field for U.S. businesses in the Chinese market.
• Healthy homes: HUD awards nearly $127 million in grants to projects to protect children and families from potentially dangerous lead-based paint and other home health and safety hazards.
• WEEKLY ADDRESS •
White House, Jan. 15, 2011:
Weekly Address: "Before We are Democrats or Republicans, We are Americans"
As Congress returns to work, the President calls on them -- and all of us -- to debate our differences vigorously but to live up to the spirit of common cause we felt following the tragedy in Arizona.
Office of the Press Secretary, Jan. 15, 2011:
Weekly Address: President Obama: Before We are Democrats or Republicans, We are Americans
It’s been one week since tragedy visited Tucson, Arizona.
We properly spent much of the week mourning the victims and remembering their lives. We also discovered stories that serve to lift us up – stories of heroism and bravery, of courage and community – stories that remind us that we are one American family, 300 million strong.
One of the places we saw that sense of community on display was on the floor of Congress, where Gabby Giffords, who inspires us with her recovery, is deeply missed by her colleagues. One by one, Representatives from all parts of the country and all points of view rose in common cause to honor Gabby and the other victims, and to reflect on our shared hopes for this country.
As shrill and discordant as our politics can be at times, it was a moment that reminded us of who we really are – and how much we depend on one another.
While we can’t escape our grief for those we’ve lost, we carry on now, mindful of those truths.
We carry on because we have to. After all, this is still a time of great challenges for us to solve. We’ve got to grow jobs faster, and forge a stronger, more competitive economy. We’ve got to shore up our budget, and bring down our deficits. We’ve got to keep our people safe, and see to it that the American Dream remains vibrant and alive for our children and grandchildren.
These are challenges I believe we can meet. And I believe we can do it in a way worthy of those who sent us here to serve. So as business resumes, I look forward to working together in that same spirit of common cause with members of Congress from both parties – because before we are Democrats or Republicans, we are Americans.
And as we perform the work of this nation, my prayer is that we stay true to our words, and turn to those examples of heroism, and courage, and perseverance, to bring out the better in all of us.
Thanks for listening, and have a great weekend.
• MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. DAY •
Corporation for National and Community Service, Jan. 14, 2011:
MLK Day Legacy of Service - 25th Anniversary
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. changed the course of history and inspired us to build what he called "the beloved community." The King Legacy of Service 25th Anniversary video tells the story of how Dr. King's birthday evolved into a national day of service. Featuring civil rights luminaries such as Congressman John Lewis, Reverend Dr. Joseph Lowery, and Ruby Bridges, the 6-minute video reminds us of the importance of keeping Dr. King's legacy of service alive and challenges us to make service a part of our lives ─ everyday of the year.
White House Blog, Jan. 17, 2011:
Celebrating MLK Day with City Year
Posted by Jack Lew, Director of the Office of Management and Budget
Today, I am joining hundreds of volunteers at Intermediate School 292 in Brooklyn as part of City Year’s celebration of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. I look forward to seeing the hundreds of energetic and idealistic City Year corps members who are always an inspiration....
.... During the Clinton Administration I was proud to do my part to help pass the national community service legislation that started Americorps, which supports community service projects that are underway every day across our nation.
It is an honor once again to be working for a President who believes deeply in the power of community service and is committed to creating more opportunities for Americans to serve.
Just a few months after coming into office, President Obama signed into law the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, expanding opportunities for Americans to serve their communities, scaling AmeriCorps from 75,000 volunteers up to 250,000 by 2017. The President’s Budget proposal for FY2011 backed up the promise of that legislation, providing funding for 105,000 AmeriCorps members in 2011, an increase of 20,000 from 2010, as well as supporting the National Civilian Community Corps program, a full-time program that dispatches teams to areas in need, with a focus on disaster relief. Understanding that outcomes are as important as good intentions, the Serve America Act also created a Social Innovation Fund to invest in ideas that are proven to improve outcomes and "what works" funds in federal agencies to promote effective and innovative programs.
And recognizing that Americans wanted to do their part during the recent economic downturn to help their fellow citizens, the President launched United We Serve, a nationwide call to service. In fact, today’s day of service is part of that initiative.
Dr. King once said that "everybody can be great, because everybody can serve." That is as true today as it was when he said those words. I hope everyone has a chance to give back to their communities and their country today and every day, and that we can continue to strive to be great through our service.
VOALearningEnglish, Jan. 10, 2011:
For Martin Luther King, a Memorial in Washington Designed by a Chinese Artist
A look at the design of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial. (Slow narration because it’s an English-instruction video.) Non-embeddable CBS News report from Jan. 15, 2011 here
The White House Blog, Jan. 16, 2011:
Honoring Dr. Martin Luther King's Life and Legacy
Posted by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar
Editor's Note: On Monday, January 17th, President Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama and other Administration officials will honor Dr. Martin Luther King by participating in a National Day of Service.
On Monday, our Nation will celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, a man whose service and sacrifice touched the lives of all Americans....
I am also proud to report on the progress underway at the memorial being constructed on the National Mall in Dr. King’s honor. Yesterday, I visited the memorial site with EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, DC Mayor Vincent Gray and Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton. When completed later this year, the memorial will serve to remind us of Dr. King’s hope, sense of justice, and quest for equality.
Here are some photos of the progress underway at this tremendous monument. The memorial will be a proud tribute to Dr. King’s life and legacy.
Office of the Press Secretary, Jan. 14, 2011:
Presidential Proclamation--Martin Luther King, Jr., Federal Holiday
Half a century ago, America was moved by a young preacher who called a generation to action and forever changed the course of history. The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. devoted his life to the struggle for justice and equality, sowing seeds of hope for a day when all people might claim "the riches of freedom and the security of justice." On Martin Luther King, Jr., Federal Holiday, we commemorate the 25th anniversary of the holiday recognizing one of America's greatest visionary leaders, and we celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. King.
Dr. King guided us toward a mountaintop on which all Americans -- regardless of skin color -- could live together in mutual respect and brotherhood. His bold leadership and prophetic eloquence united people of all backgrounds in a noble quest for freedom and basic civil rights. Inspired by Dr. King's legacy, brave souls have marched fearlessly, organized relentlessly, and devoted their lives to the unending task of perfecting our Union. Their courage and dedication have carried us even closer to the promised land Dr. King envisioned, but we must recognize their achievements as milestones on the long path to true equal opportunity and equal rights.
We must face the challenges of today with the same strength, persistence, and determination exhibited by Dr. King, guided by the enduring values of hope and justice embodied by other civil rights leaders. As a country, we must expand access to opportunity and end structural inequalities for all people in employment and economic mobility. It is our collective responsibility as a great Nation to ensure a strong foundation that supports economic security for all and extends the founding promise of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness to every American.
Dr. King devoted his life to serving others, reminding us that "human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable. Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle -- the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals." Commemorating Dr. King's life is not only a tribute to his contributions to our Nation and the world, but also a reminder that every day, each of us can play a part in continuing this critical work.
For this reason, we honor Dr. King's legacy with a national day of service. I encourage all Americans to visit www.MLKDay.gov to learn more about service opportunities across our country. By dedicating this day to service, we move our Nation closer to Dr. King's vision of all Americans living and working together as one beloved community.
NOW, THEREFORE, I BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim January 17, 2011, as the Martin Luther King, Jr., Federal Holiday. I encourage all Americans to observe this day with appropriate civic, community, and service programs in honor of Dr. King's life and lasting legacy.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fourteenth day of January, in the year of our Lord two thousand eleven, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fifth.
BARACK OBAMA
• REMEMBERING RCIHARD HOLBROOKE •
White House, Jan. 14, 2011:
Remembering Richard Holbrooke
President Obama, President Clinton, and Secretary of State Clinton speak at a memorial service for Richard Holbrooke at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
Office of the Press Secretary, Jan. 14, 2011:
Remarks by the President at a Memorial Service for Richard Holbrooke
THE PRESIDENT: To Kati, Anthony, David and Elizabeth, to all the friends and admirers of Richard, we come together to celebrate an extraordinary life.
In 1999, at the height of the crisis in Kosovo, Richard gave an interview in which he addressed the question of why the United States was engaged in bringing peace to that war-torn corner of the world. Why bother? His answer was simple: "Because we could make a difference." Because we could make a difference.
That is the story of American leadership in the world. And that is also the story of Richard Holbrooke. He made a difference.
In 1962, when he was just 22 years old, he set out for Vietnam as a Foreign Service Officer. He could not have known the twists and turns that lay ahead of him and his country in that war, or the road that he would travel over nearly five decades of service to his country. But it’s no coincidence that his life story so closely paralleled the major events of his times.
The list of places he served and the things he did reads as a chronicle of American foreign policy. Speaking truth to power from the Mekong Delta to the Paris peace talks.
Paving the way to our normalization of relations with China. Serving as ambassador in a newly unified Germany. Bringing peace to the Balkans. Strengthening our relationship with the United Nations. And working to advance peace and progress in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Richard came of an age looking up to the men who had helped shape the post-war world -- Dean Acheson, Averill Harriman, Clark Clifford, Dean Rusk. And in many ways, he was the leading light of a generation of American diplomats who came of age in Vietnam.
It was a generation that came to know both the tragic limits and awesome possibilities of American power -- born at a time of triumph in World War II; steeped in the painful lessons of Southeast Asia; participants in the twilight struggle that led ultimately to freedom’s triumph during the Cold War.
After the shadow of Communism lifted along with the Iron Curtain, Richard understood that America could not retreat from the world.
He recognized that our prosperity is tied to that of others; that our security is endangered by instability abroad; and most importantly, that our moral leadership is at stake when innocent men, women and children are slaughtered through senseless violence -- whether it’s in Srebrenica or Islamabad.
Richard possessed a hard-headed, clear-eyed realism about how the world works. He was not naïve. But he also believed that America has a unique responsibility in the course of human events.
He understood American power, in all its complexity, and believed that when it is applied with purpose and principle, it can tip the scales of history. And that coupling of realism and idealism, which has always represented what is best in American foreign policy, that was at the heart of his work in Bosnia, where he negotiated and cajoled and threatened all at once, until peace was the only outcome possible.
By the time I came to know Richard, his place in history was assured.
His options in the private sector -- where so many of his peers had settled -- were too numerous to mention. But from my first conversation with him in Chicago, in my transition office -- a conversation in which he teared up when he began to talk about the importance of restoring America’s place in the world -- it was clear that Richard was not comfortable on the sidelines. He belonged in the arena.
To Kati, and to his wonderful family, I am personally grateful. I know that every hour he spent with me in the Situation Room, or spent traveling to Southeast Asia, South Asia, was time spent away from you.
You shared in his sacrifice, and that the sacrifice is made greater because he loved you so. He served his country until his final moments.
Those who take the measure of his last mission will see his foresight. He understood that the futures of Afghanistan and Pakistan are tied together. In Afghanistan, he cultivated areas like agriculture and governance to seed stability. With Pakistan, he created new habits of cooperation to overcome decades of mistrust. And globally, he helped align the approaches of 49 nations.
Were he here with us, I know Richard would credit the extraordinary team that he assembled. And today, I’d like to make a personal appeal to the SRAP team -- particularly the young people: Stay in public service. Serve your country. Seek the peace that your mentor so ardently sought. I also know that Richard would want us to lift up the next generation of public servants, particularly our diplomats who so rarely receive credit. And so I’m proud to announce the creation of an annual Richard C. Holbrooke Award to honor excellence in American diplomacy.
As we look to the next generation, it is fitting, as David mentioned, that this memorial take place at the Kennedy Center, named for the President who called Richard’s generation to serve. It’s also fitting that this memorial takes place at a time when our nation has recently received a tragic reminder that we must never take our public servants for granted and must always honor their work.
America is not defined by ethnicity. It’s not defined by geography. We are a nation born of an idea, a commitment to human freedom.And over the last five decades, there have been countless times when people made the mistake of counting on America’s decline or disengagement. Time and again, those voices have been proven wrong, but only because of the service and sacrifice of exceptional men and women, those who answered the call of history and made America’s cause their own.
Like the country he served, Richard contained complexities. So full of life, he was a man both confident in himself and curious about others, alive to the world around him with a character that is captured in the words of a Mathew Arnold poem that he admired. "But often, in the din of strife, there rises an unspeakable desire after the knowledge of the buried life; a thirst to spend our fire and restless force in tracking our true, original course; a longing to inquire into the mystery of this heart which beats so wild, so deep in us -- to know whence our lives come and where they go."
Richard is gone now, but we carry with us his thirst to know, to grasp, and to heal the world around him. His legacy is seen in the children of Bosnia who lived to raise families of their own; in a Europe that is peaceful and united and free; in young boys and girls from the tribal regions of Pakistan to whom he pledged our country’s friendship; and in the role that America continues to play as a light to all who aspire to live in freedom and in dignity.
Five decades after a young President called him to serve, we can confidently say that Richard bore the burden to assure the survival and success of liberty. He made a difference. Let us now carry that work forward in our time.
May God bless the memory of Richard Holbrooke, and may God bless the United States of America. (Applause.)
• US-CHINA RELATIONS •
Department of State, Jan. 14, 2011:
Secretary Clinton Speaks on U.S.- China Relations in the 21st Century
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton discusses the broad vision of U.S. China relations for the 21st century at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., January 14, 2011.
Department of State, Jan. 14, 2011:
Inaugural Richard C. Holbrooke Lecture on a Broad Vision of U.S.-China Relations in the 21st Century
Remarks by Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary of State
SECRETARY CLINTON: .... America and China have arrived at a critical juncture, a time when the choices we make – both big and small – will shape the trajectory of this relationship. And over the past two years, in the Obama Administration, we have created the opportunity for deeper, broader, and more sustained cooperation. We have seen some early successes and also some frustrations. And moving forward, it is up to both of us to more consistently translate positive words into effective cooperation....
China’s transformation, made possible primarily by the hard work of its people and the vision of its leaders, was also aided by an open and dynamic global economy and by the American power that has long secured stability in the region. It has lifted hundreds of millions out of grinding poverty and now helps drive global prosperity. The United States has welcomed this growth, and we have benefited from it. Today, our economies are entwined and so are our futures.
But despite its progress in the past 30 years, China still faces great challenges. When I speak with my Chinese counterparts, they often talk to me in passionate terms about how far their country still has to go. Because even with all that growth, China’s GDP is only a third of the size of America’s with nearly four times the number of people. And our trade with the European Union is still greater than our trade with China. As Secretary Geithner noted this week, China has a lot of work to do to move from a state-dominated economy, dependent on external demand and technology, to a more market-oriented economy powered by domestic demand and innovation. More of its people are also seeking greater respect for their cultural and religious beliefs. They’re seeking more opportunity for improved working conditions and for legal recourse for injustices.
Understanding these strengths and challenges is essential for us and others to understand today’s China, and it provides important context to the country’s changing role on the world stage and to the future of the U.S.-China relationship....
In the 21st century, it does not make sense to apply zero-sum 19th century theories of how major powers interact. We are moving through uncharted territory. We need new ways of understanding the shifting dynamics of the international landscape, a landscape marked by emerging centers of influence, but also by non-traditional, even non-state actors, and the unprecedented challenges and opportunities created by globalization. This is a fact that we believe is especially applicable to the U.S-China relationship. Our engagement – indeed, I would say our entanglement – can only be understood in the context of this new and more complicated landscape....
This is not a relationship that fits neatly into the black and white categories like friend or rival. We are two complex nations with very different histories, with profoundly different political systems and outlooks. But there is a lot about our people that reminds us of each other: an energy, an entrepreneurial dynamism, a commitment to a better future for one’s children and grandchildren. We are both deeply invested in the current order and we both have much more to gain from cooperation than from conflict....
.... To keep our relationship on a positive trajectory, we also have to be honest about our differences. We will address them firmly and decisively as we pursue the urgent work we have to do together. And we have to avoid unrealistic expectations that can be disappointed. This requires steady effort over time to expand the areas where we cooperate and to narrow the areas where we diverge, while holding firm to our respective values.
As we build on our record of the past two years and shape the future of our relationship, the Obama Administration is pursuing a strategy with three elements that all reinforce one another. We are practicing robust regional engagement in the Asia-Pacific, we are working to build trust between China and the United States, and we are committed to expanding economic, political, and security cooperation wherever possible.
Let me start with regional engagement. The United States, by the blessing of our geography, is both an Atlantic and a Pacific power, and we are committed to our relationships through both of these great oceans. We are firmly embedding our relationship with China within a broader regional framework because it is inseparable from the Asia-Pacific’s web of security alliances, economic networks, and social connections....
Over the past two years, the United States has reaffirmed our commitment to be an active participant and leader in the Asia-Pacific. As I said in Hawaii this fall, we are practicing what we call forward-deployed diplomacy, expanding our presence in terms of people, programs, and high-level engagement in every corner and every capital across the region. America has renewed and strengthened our bonds with our allies – Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Australia, and the Philippines – and we have deepened our partnerships with India, and Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, and New Zealand.
We are taking steps to ensure that our defense posture reflects the complex and evolving strategic environment in the region and we are working to ratify a free trade agreement with South Korea and pursuing a regional agreement through the Trans-Pacific Partnership to help create new opportunities for American companies and support new jobs here at home. Those goals will be front and center when we host the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum in Hawaii later this year.
We’ve also worked to strengthen regional architecture in the Asia Pacific, including signing the ASEAN Treaty of Amity and Cooperation and attending the East Asia Summit for the first time and increasing engagement in the Pacific Island Forum. A more robust and coherent regional architecture in Asia benefits all of us, especially the United States and China. It helps ensure that every nation and point of view is heard. And it reinforces the system of rules and responsibilities, from protecting intellectual property to ensuring freedom of navigation, that form the basis of a just international order. In these multilateral settings, responsible behavior is rewarded with legitimacy and respect, and we can work together to hold accountable those who take counterproductive actions to peace, stability, and prosperity.
Our regional engagement places this relationship in the appropriate context. The second element of our strategy is to focus on building bilateral trust with China. We need to form habits of cooperation and respect that help us work together more effectively and weather disagreements when they do arise. The most notable example of our efforts is the Strategic and Economic Dialogue, which brings together hundreds of experts from dozens of agencies across both of our governments, not only to discuss an unprecedented range of subjects, but to inculcate that ethic or habit of cooperation across our two governments. Secretary Geithner and I are looking forward to hosting our counterparts this spring for the third round of the S&ED.
This is a good start, but I would be the first to admit that distrust lingers on both sides. The United States and the international community have watched China’s efforts to modernize and expand its military, and we have sought clarity as to its intentions. As Secretary Gates stressed in Beijing this week, both sides would benefit from sustained and substantive military-to-military engagement that increases transparency. We need more high-level visits, more joint exercises, more exchanges from our professional military organizations, and other steps to build that trust, understanding of intentions, and familiarity. This will require China to overcome its reluctance at times to join us in building a stable and transparent military-to-military relationship. But we think it is so much in both of our interests, and we will continue to raise it and work on it with our Chinese friends.
But building trust is not just a project just for our governments. Our peoples must continue to forge new and deeper bonds as well. In classrooms and laboratories, on sports fields and trading floors, our people make the everyday connections that build lasting trust and understanding. That is why we have launched a new bilateral dialogue on people-to-people exchanges and new initiatives such as the 100,000 Strong program that is sending more Chinese – more American students to China. Those students are on the front lines of charting the future of our relationship. And I saw this for myself firsthand at the Shanghai Expo, where we were delighted to have 7 million Chinese visitors come to our expo, and they were all greeted by American students speaking Chinese. And it came as quite a surprise to some of our Chinese visitors that we had so many American students who had studied Chinese and were excited about being part of such a tremendous international effort as the expo.
The third element of our strategy is expanding our work together, along with the rest of the international community, to address these shared challenges. Global recession, nuclear proliferation, terrorism, piracy on the high seas – these are threats that affect all of us, including China. And China is joining us in confronting them. So we continue to encourage China to help us do even more together, to work more actively with us to solve these problems. We have a wide-ranging agenda, a number of areas where we will ultimately be able to judge whether our relationship is producing real benefits.
On the economic front, as Secretary Geithner discussed earlier this week, the United States and China do need to work together to orient our economies to assure strong, sustained, balanced future global growth. In the aftermath of the global financial crisis, the United States and China worked effectively through the G-20 to help spur recovery. Can you imagine where we would be economically if either China or the United States had failed to work together so constructively? It almost is a frightening prospect to imagine....
We can work together on these objectives, but China still needs to take important steps toward reform. And in particular, we look to China to end unfair discrimination against U.S. and other foreign companies or against their innovative technologies; to remove preferences for domestic firms, and measure that – and any measures that disadvantage foreign intellectual property. We need to open up more opportunities for American manufactured goods, farm and ranch products, and services, as well as allowing currency to appreciate more rapidly. These reforms, we believe, would not only benefit both our countries, but contribute to global economic balance, predictability, and broader prosperity.
And we also need to work on some of the global strategic issues that confront us. Take climate change, for example. China and the United States are the world’s two largest emitters of greenhouse gases. Our cooperation at the UN Climate Conference in Mexico was critical to the conclusion of the Cancun Agreements. Now, we must build on that progress by implementing the agreements on transparency, funding, and clean energy technology. There is no time to delay. And the United States and China, working with other partners including the EU, Japan, and India, will set the pace and direction for the world to move rapidly toward a clean energy future.
On international development, we could make a significant impact by aligning our investments and coordinating projects. We would ask that China embrace internationally recognized standards and policies that ensure transparency and sustainability. I often, in my discussions with China’s leaders, hear them say that their country speaks for the developing world because of their extraordinary progress. But their development practices in Africa and elsewhere have raised serious concerns. And we welcome the commitment to development, but we would like to work more closely together to have common standards and approaches.
On security issues, there is also room to work more closely and constructively.
On Iran, for example, we’ve made progress, but now we have to follow through. As a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, China helped enact tough sanctions, and now we are working together to implement them. And we look to China to help the international community send a clear message to Iran’s leaders to cease its illicit nuclear activity.
And let me go onto a problem that has vexed us over the last two years and particularly in the last several months, namely North Korea. The United States and China both understand the urgent need to maintain peace and stability on the Korean peninsula and to achieve the complete denuclearization of North Korea.
For our part, America will continue to stand with our allies, South Korea and Japan, as they contend with their belligerent neighbor. And, as Secretary Gates said this week, North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs are becoming a direct threat to the United States itself. So this is not just about peace and stability in Northeast Asia, nor standing with our allies; this is becoming, unfortunately, more of a national security challenge to our own shores.
From the early months of our Administration, the United States and China, along with our partners, South Korea, Japan, and Russia, joined together to condemn North Korea’s provocative missile and nuclear tests. And with China’s support, last year we adopted enhanced sanctions in the Security Council. These efforts showed clearly that when China plays a very constructive part, we can produce results together that send an unequivocal message to North Korea....
As the result of intense engagement in recent weeks, including a conversation between President Obama and President Hu, we have begun to work together to restrain North Korea’s provocative actions. We are building momentum in support of North-South dialogue that respects the legitimate concerns of our South Korean ally and that can set the stage for meaningful talks on implementing North Korea’s 2005 commitment to irreversibly end its nuclear program. It is vital that we work together with China. We need to make it clear to North Korea that its recent provocations – including the announced uranium enrichment program – are unacceptable and in violation of not only Security Council resolutions, but North Korea’s own commitments in the 2005 joint statement. Until North Korea demonstrates in concrete ways its intention to keep its commitments, China, along with the international community, must vigorously enforce the sanctions adopted by the Security Council last year.
On Taiwan, we are encouraged by the greater dialogue and economic cooperation between the Mainland and Taiwan – as witnessed by the historic completion of the cross-Strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement. Our approach continues to be guided by our One China policy based on the three joint communiqués and the Taiwan Relations Act. In the period ahead, we seek to encourage and see more dialogue and exchanges between the two sides, as well as reduced military tensions and deployments.
Finally, and crucially, on the issue of human rights, a matter that remains at the heart of American diplomacy.
America will continue to speak out and to press China when it censors bloggers and imprisons activists; when religious believers, particularly those in unregistered groups, are denied full freedom of worship; when lawyers and legal advocates are sent to prison simply for representing clients who challenge the government’s positions; and when some, like Chen Guangcheng, are persecuted even after they are released.
Now, I know that many in China, not just in the government, but in the population at large resent or reject our advocacy of human rights as an intrusion on sovereignty. But as a founding member of the United Nations, China has committed to respecting the rights of all its citizens. These are universal rights recognized by the international community.
So in our discussions with Chinese officials, we reiterate our call for the release of Liu Xiaobo and the many other political prisoners in China, including those under house arrest and those enduring enforced disappearances, such as Gao Zhisheng. We urge China to protect the rights of minorities in Tibet and Xinjiang; the rights of all people to express themselves and worship freely; and the rights of civil society and religious organizations to advocate their positions within a framework of the rule of law. And we believe strongly that those who advocate peacefully for reform within the constitution, such as the Charter 08 signatories, should not be harassed or prosecuted.
We believe also that when China lives up to these obligations of respecting and protecting universal human rights, it will not only benefit more than one billion people. It will also benefit the long-term peace, stability, and prosperity of China. For example, an independent, impartial judicial system and respect for the rule of law would protect citizens’ property and guarantee that inventors can profit from their ideas. Freedom of expression for everyone, from political activists to academics and journalists and bloggers, would help foster the open exchange of ideas that is essential to innovation and a creative economy. A vibrant civil society would help address some of China’s most pressing issues, from food safety to pollution to education to health care. This promise is already apparent in the work of individuals and NGOs who volunteered after the Sichuan earthquake. The longer China represses freedoms, the longer it will miss out on these opportunities and the longer that Nobel Prize winners, empty chairs in Oslo will remain a symbol of a great nation’s unrealized potential and unfulfilled promise.
I know that China’s leaders believe that political reforms could shake the stability of their country and get in the way of its continuing essential economic growth. But we have seen nation after nation, from South Korea to Indonesia to many parts of the world, where once they realize that denying people the right to express their discontent can easily create more unrest, while embracing reforms can strengthen societies and unleash new potential for development....
The world is looking to China, and there’s a lot of excitement about this, because we think that there are ways that China can be a unique leader in the 21st century. Embracing the obligations that come with being a 21st century power will help to realize a future that will give the Chinese people even more, in fact, unimagined opportunities. But that means accepting a share of the burden of solving common problems, abiding by and helping to shape a rules-based international order.
The United States first emerged as a true world power nearly a century ago. And there were times when, frankly, we resisted taking on new obligations beyond our borders. There’s a strong internal position that goes back in our history where we just want to tend to ourselves and let everybody else worry about the future. But whenever Americans turned inward, attempting to avoid accepting that responsibility, events intervened and we were summoned back to reality. Our leadership in the world and our commitment to tackle its greatest challenges have not drained our strength or sapped our resolve. Quite the opposite. They have made us who we are today: A force for peace, prosperity, and progress across the globe.
This is a critical juncture, yes, but I would say to my fellow Americans, this is not a time to fear for the future. The world has never been in greater need of the qualities that distinguish us – our openness and innovation, our determination, our devotion to universal values. The world looks to the United States for leadership to manage the changing times, and to ensure that this juncture leads to greater stability, peace, progress and prosperity. That is what we have always done. It is what we will always do. That is what America is all about. And we have a tradition of moving beyond past problems and conflicts. It is sometimes hard to imagine that in the lifetime of my mother the United States was involved in two world wars, a terrible depression where we sent many of our best young people off to war in far off places, and yet we have forged close relationships with former adversaries.
Today, we have a positive relationship with China and the chance for a very positive future. The United States welcomes China as a rising power. We welcome China’s efforts not only to lift their own people out of poverty, but to export prosperity and opportunity. And we look to China to join us in meeting the challenges of today and tomorrow. We look forward to a time when our future generations can look back and say of us: They didn’t just talk about a positive, cooperative, and comprehensive relationship. They made the right choices. They worked together. They delivered results. And they did leave us a better world. That is our vision and that is our commitment for this most important relationship....
• THE US-CHINA COMMERCIAL RELATIONSHIP •
Department of Commerce, Jan. 14, 2011:
Secretary Locke Delivers Key Policy Speech on U.S.-China Commercial Relations
At a luncheon hosted by the U.S.-China Business Council, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke laid out a path to unlock the full potential of the U.S.-China commercial relationship. Locke discussed how leveling the playing field for U.S. businesses in the Chinese market will help spur global innovation and economic growth and create jobs in America.
Department of Commerce, Jan. 13, 2011
Commerce Secretary Gary Locke: Remarks at U.S.-China Business Council Luncheon
(As prepared for delivery.)
.... The explosive growth in places like Shanghai has helped lift almost 200 million people out of poverty. In the years ahead, hundreds of millions more Chinese citizens will join the middle class.
The United States welcomes this growth, because it’s good for the people of China; it's good for the global economy; and it's important for U.S. companies who offer world-class products and service, products and services that can improve the quality of life for the Chinese, while providing jobs for American workers back home.
With the U.S.-China Business Council’s help, this has become perhaps the most important bilateral trading relationship in the world.
China is the top destination for American exports, behind just Canada and Mexico. And America is the number one national market for Chinese exports.
In the past 20 years, U.S. exports to China have increased by a factor of 12; imports from China have increased more than 30-fold.
However, we are at a turning point in the U.S.-China economic partnership. Last year, China became the second largest economy in the world. And the policies and practices that have shaped our relations over the past few decades will not suffice over the next few decades.
So today, I'd like to talk a bit about how we can move forward and ensure that we can unlock the full potential of the U.S.-China commercial relationship in the early 21st century.
The gross trade imbalances between our countries are a good place to start, because they have the potential to threaten global stability and prosperity.
And I think a great illustration of that can be found in, of all places, Trenton, New Jersey.
Many of you have likely taken Amtrak up to New York, and when you pass by the Delaware River in New Jersey, you see that famous sign: Trenton Makes and the World Takes.
Well, replace Trenton with China, and you have a simplistic, but pretty accurate description of the global economy over the last few decades.
China and the United States benefited tremendously from this arrangement in recent years.
American consumers got an impressive array of low-cost goods. And in its transition into one of the world’s top exporters, China was able to lift millions of its citizens into a fast-growing middle class.
But it’s not sustainable. The debt-fueled consumption binge in developed countries like America is over.
And countries like China are beginning to realize that there are limits to purely export-driven growth.
That's why we need a more equitable commercial relationship. And it is within our reach.
The United States is doing its part to facilitate global adjustments by increasing private savings and exports, as well as taking steps to bring down its long-term fiscal deficits to a sustainable level.
And the Chinese leadership is making the rebalancing of its economy one of the cornerstones of its forthcoming five-year plan.
China is aiming to promote domestic consumption through a variety of measures, such as boosting the minimum wage for its workers and building an improved social safety net. Changes like these will hasten the rise of a middle class that wants the same cars, appliances, fashion, medical care and other amenities that have long been enjoyed by consumers in the Western world.
The Chinese government is also putting an intensive focus on strategic emerging industries, with more high-value work in areas like healthcare, energy and high technology.
And the Chinese have signaled that they want foreign businesses to help develop these sectors by entering joint ventures and by conducting more research and development in China.
This is assistance that U.S. companies are eager to provide, so long as China deals meaningfully with concerns about intellectual property protection, as well as a variety of other issues I will talk about later.
Such cooperative projects can serve as the foundation for a stronger economic relationship between China and the U.S.
But China’s long-term success at addressing the concerns of international businesses will help determine whether it realizes its economic vision – a vision in which China is a leader in innovation and a producer of higher-value goods and services.
Here's the good news: we are already seeing examples of just how this future could play out, as our businesses and our governments collaborate to tackle some of the world’s greatest challenges.
Just look at what's happening with the new Energy Cooperation Program that Secretary Chu and I announced while in China in October 2009 to promote more collaboration between Chinese and American companies on energy issues. One of the founding corporate members of the program, Boeing, is partnering with Air China and Petro China to research a new generation of aviation biofuels that don't rely on food crops.
If this venture is successful, it could reduce the carbon footprint of airplane travel, and avoid the negative impact that other biofuels have on the global food supply.
Or look at what’s happening with Duke Energy, one of America's leading utilities, which has signed an agreement for joint research with China’s largest energy company, Huaneng, and with the Chinese government’s Thermal Power Research Institute.
Today, there are scientists and researchers shuttling between the companies and the research institute, working to develop cutting-edge solutions for cleaner-burning coal and carbon sequestration.
The Chinese and American governments are also working together on a variety of transportation issues, including how to spur the deployment of more high-speed rail. China has embraced high-speed rail and has developed its infrastructure at a tremendous rate. Starting from scratch, China has constructed and put into service over 4,000 miles of high-speed routes in the last decade – making China’s the longest high-speed rail network in the world.
In meetings last year, officials and experts from the Department of Transportation and China’s Railway Ministry met in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to share information on the development of high-speed rail standards. And at the state level, the Chinese government has signed cooperation agreements with the State of California on its high-speed rail project to link Anaheim and San Francisco.
There is, however, a sobering side to U.S.-China commercial relations: For every story like Duke Energy’s or Boeing’s, there are many more that are never written.
When I talk to business leaders across America, they continue to express significant concerns – shared by business around the world --about the commercial environment in China – especially China's lax intellectual property protection and enforcement, lack of transparency in government decision-making and numerous indigenous innovation policies that often preclude foreign companies from vying for Chinese government contracts. These policies mandate that products must be made, conceived and designed in China.
It’s important to note that since China formally joined the WTO nine years ago, it has made important progress opening its market. Tariffs have come down, private property rights are steadily evolving and great strides have been made to free the flow of commerce across China's borders.
On balance, the competitive playing field in China is fairer to foreign firms that it was a decade ago. And we commend the Chinese for that.
It is also not lost on countries in the West that on our march towards industrialization, we sometimes protected native industries with policies that today would mobilize an army of WTO lawyers in opposition.
But those policies were folly then, and they are surely folly now. After World War II, the United States and a growing community of nations painstakingly built a global trading system based on the freer flow of goods, ideas and services across borders.
And the creation of the World Trade Organization in 1995 ensured that countries would be held accountable for their commitments to open markets and lower barriers.
China has benefited tremendously from this international trading system, especially since it joined the WTO in 2001. The United States and other foreign nations have every right to seek more meaningful commitment and progress from China in implementing the market-opening policies it agreed to when it joined the WTO.
From our experience, there are usually five things that need to happen to turn these promises into reality.
It starts with the easiest step: a statement of principle from Chinese officials that action will be taken to solve a market access issue.
Next, that agreement has to be codified into binding law or regulations.
Third, the law or regulation needs to be faithfully implemented by the central government.
And fourth, it needs to be implemented at the local and provincial levels.
Only after all these things have happened can you arrive at the fifth, final and most important step, which is where this new law or regulation becomes a norm – an accepted way of doing business in China's commercial culture.
When it comes to indigenous innovation, intellectual property or a variety of other market-access issues, an enduring frustration is that in too many cases only the earliest steps are taken, but not all five.
Perhaps an agreement is made, but it never becomes binding. Or perhaps there's a well-written law or regulation at the national level, but there's lax enforcement at the provincial or city level.
A few weeks ago, the Commerce Department and the office of the U.S. Trade Representative welcomed Vice Premier Wang Qishan and other leading Chinese officials for the 21st Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade, where we worked through a variety of specific trade issues.
It was a productive meeting. Vice Premier Wang and his team were responsive to our concerns and they pledged action in a variety of areas critical to American businesses.
They agreed to remove administrative and regulatory barriers discriminating against American companies selling everything from industrial machinery and telecom devices; to those that restrict U.S. participation in the development of large-scale wind farms in China.
They also agreed to revise one of their major government procurement catalogues to ensure a level playing field for foreign suppliers and to reduce the use of counterfeit software in government offices and state-owned enterprises.
Additionally, Vice Premier Wang asked the Commerce Department and the U.S. Trade Representative to partner with him on a public campaign to reduce intellectual property rights violations in China, which he is leading.
The American government welcomes these commitments from China.
But to be clear, they are only a first step. What was agreed to at the JCCT were important statements of principle and policy – but they must be turned into concrete action with results.
Take last year’s JCCT, when the Chinese agreed to remove a local content requirement for wind turbine suppliers – a positive step forward.
But soon after, China’s government employed a rule that required foreign businesses seeking to build large scale wind farms in China to have prior experience with such projects in China. The rule might have been different than the local content requirement, but it had the same effect – making it tougher for foreign companies to compete with China’s domestic companies.
At this year’s JCCT, we persuaded the Chinese to modify that rule as well.
Or look at the issue of intellectual property. We have heard Chinese leaders condemn IP-theft in the strongest terms, and we’ve seen central government laws and regulations written or amended to reflect that sentiment.
But American and other foreign companies, in industries ranging from pharmaceuticals and biotechnology to entertainment, still lose billions of dollars from counterfeiting and IP-theft in China every year.
For example, in the United States, for every $1 in computer hardware sales there is about 88 cents in software sales. But in China, for every dollar in hardware sales there is only eight cents in software sales.
According to the Business Software Alliance, that discrepancy is largely explained by the fact that nearly 80 percent of the software used on computers in China is counterfeit.
So America welcomes Vice Premier Wang’s pledge to accelerate China's crackdown on intellectual property violations. And China will have a very willing partner in this endeavor in the United States. But we will be focused on meaningful outcomes.
I recognize I'm not the first foreign official to express concern over the commercial environment in China. But it would be a mistake to portray this concern solely as U.S. self-interest masquerading as advice.
The Chinese economy is increasingly moving up the global economic value chain, where growth is created not just by the power of a country’s industrial might, but also by the power of its people’s ideas and their inventions.
In the long run, economies with poor intellectual property protections and inconsistent application of market access laws will lose out on generating great new ideas and technologies. And they’ll lose out on the jobs that come with producing new products – jobs critical to an expanding middle class.
The damage won’t happen overnight. I freely admit that companies and countries can gain short-term advantages from lax rules in the commercial space.
But over time, if innovators fear that their inventions or ideas will be stolen or discriminated against, one of two things will happen – they’ll either stop inventing, or they’ll decide to create or sell their inventions elsewhere.
Ultimately, all that the United States seeks is a level playing field for its companies, where the cost and quality of their products determines whether or not they win business....
And our commitment to open and competitive markets is a big reason why we remain the number one destination for foreign direct investment in the world....
China has 1.3 billion people. Seven hundred million of them still live in rural areas; many with little electricity or running water. It took the United States over 100 years to build the electrical transmission capacity it has today.
To meet the rising demands of its own consumers, China will have to build a similar amount of capacity in just 15 years.
These are enormous undertakings. And it’s understandable if, in the past, China’s immediate development goals took precedence over other concerns.
With millions of Chinese coming in from the countryside looking for work, it isn’t necessarily an easy decision to close down a factory producing counterfeit goods, when that factory is providing badly needed jobs.
So what we’re discussing here are real and significant challenges. For market reforms to continue, it will take constant vigilance – not just from the United States, but from all countries and businesses around the world that benefit from rules-based trading. And from Chinese business and government leaders, who themselves have a strong stake in ensuring that China is friendly to global innovation and international competition.
In front of us is the opportunity for China and the United States to lead the world economy in the early 21st century to create a new foundation for sustainable growth for years to come.
We can’t tell exactly what that future will look like.
But we can be certain that it will be a better future if the Chinese and American governments pursue cooperation over confrontation in the economic sphere....
• HEALTHY HOMES •
Department of Housing and Urban Development, Jan. 13, 2011:
Making Our Homes Safe and Healthy
By Jon L. Gant, Director of HUD's Office of Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control
.... thanks to the wonderful work of our dedicated team at HUD and our grantees in cities and counties around the country, we’ve already reduced the number of children with lead poisoning by 75 percent over the last decade. Stated differently, the percentage of children that test positive for lead poisoning has been reduced from over 8% to less than 1%.
And when Vice President Biden announced in May 2009 that HUD would be awarding nearly $100 million in Recovery Act Funds to help eliminate dangerous lead-based paint and other health and safety hazards from low-income homes, we were able to make even more progress. Thanks in part to Recovery Act funding, HUD was able to make over 16,700 homes safe from lead paint and other health hazards in the last year alone.
.... today, HUD awarded nearly $127 million in grants to 48 local projects to protect children and families from potentially dangerous lead-based paint and other home health and safety hazards. This grant funding will clean up lead and other health hazards in more than 11,000 homes, train workers in lead safety methods and increase public awareness about childhood lead poisoning. And to address homes that are simply too unsafe or unhealthy for children and the elderly, $10 million of these funds will address housing-related health hazards, such as mold and moisture, fire hazards, radon and carbon monoxide poisoning.
We know that healthier homes are good for families – which is why we have posted HUD’s Seven Healthy Homes Principles on our website.
But we also know that they are good for the taxpayer, thanks to a recent Pew Center on the States report that found that every dollar spent on controlling lead hazards could return at least $17 to Americans in the form of health benefits, higher lifetime earnings, tax revenues, and lower special education costs....