Module III--Final Draft

Foreign Affairs: Talks between the East and West

Foreign affairs are an important aspect of my International Studies major, and typical talks mostly deal with world powers such and the United States and Europe. However, spotlights of international relations with the US and world economic growth is on countries I didn’t expect could emerge as powers. Brazil, China, and Russia are key players in international talks—more than anyone could expect.
In his article, “Brazil’s Big Moment,” Juan de Onis asserts that Brazil will be next in line to be the powerful economic democracies of the world. He supports his position first by giving a brief synopsis of the features that are the key to Brazil’s economy growth, which include; expanded exports, oil discoveries, financial stability, low inflation, growing foreign and domestic investment, booming consumer demand, as well as others. Secondly, he explains that the key driver of this economic transition after a long period of political instability, is the current president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, also known as Lula, where he “pledged to honor contracts, respect private property, exercise fiscal discipline, and pay off Brazils’ foreign debt” (de Onis 109). Last but not least, Onis suggests possible ways that the United States and Brazil can build international and business relationships, especially with the new administration that is to take over in January, as well as the upcoming presidential elections in Brazil. In addition, compared to a world economic power such as China, Brazil is clearly growing at a fast rate and is catching up to the Eastern powers. Despite the current economic crisis of the world, countries such as Brazil and its nationalistic citizens look forward to future foreign relations with regards to trade. With Brazil’s economic advancement and growth, there is hope for future international relations with the United States. Meanwhile, the United States should consider energy partnerships with China.
In their article, “Promoting Energy Partnership in Beijing and Washington,” authors Zha Daojiong and Hu Weixing stress that “as the world’s second-largest and largest consumers of oil, respectively, China and the Unites States are becoming more sensitive to each other’s pursuit of energy sources from other countries,” thus “energy security has ironically become a necessary agenda item in Chinese-U.S. relations” (Daojiong and Weixing 105). There are a few tensions that have weakened this relationship, one of which the United States has been an important supplier to China of Kerosene in the past, however those trade ties came to an end during World War II. In addition, as domestic consumption increased in China, oil trade decreased, thus driving away foreign oil investments.
There seems to be misleading perceptions from both sides, where the United States views China’s foreign energy supply as part of its plan to build its power. Chinese analysts view the United States to use oil as a weapon against China, due to the United States’ historical control of oil production worldwide. Thus China engages in oil investments wherever access is possible in order to meet its demand, as it did with Sudan and Ethiopia, resulting in international political and social risks. These assumptions must be put aside and instead of Chinese-U.S. energy “talks”, an action plan must be put in place in order to establish energy security for these two giant oil consumers.
As the United States ponders upon future trade and investments with developing countries such as China and Brazil, the European Union is in a dilemma whether to include Russia as part of the European Union (EU) and risk relations with the US. In his article “Germany and Russia: A Special Relationship,” Alexander Rahr emphasizes the EU’s suspicions of Russia’s role after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The country stags behind the world in economic growth, yet is a key dependent country of oil production. Germany along with France has long been with good relations with Russia, yet this incorporation would require majority vote from the EU countries. The problem lies with the fact that the EU looks for “foreign affairs, economic cooperation, interior security aspects, and cultural issues” (Rahr 139) as far as international relations. Thus the EU has more in common with the United States rather than Russia. Another important issue is that the EU fears Russia siding with China against the west, by creating a gas exporting organization in Eurasia, thus weakening relations with both Europe and the US. Russia will become a strong influence in the future, however the EU fears that it would “collapse if world energy prices go down” (Rahr 144).
There is a sense of pride in one’s country and its resource and production potential. There is an intense coalition between the East and the West, and with whom to side with. However, in a culturally and technologically advanced society we live in today, there needs to be cooperation and positive talks on a global and international scale in order for the United States, Europe and the eastern counties to overcome the world economic crisis.