Your correspondent is currently reading Alexander Wendt's A Social Theory of International Politics: I hope to finish it by the end of this week. Nevertheless, I also read an article Wendt wrote which preceded and inspired his book; the article is: Anarchy is what States make of it: the social construction of power politics.

While I am nearly done with his book, I will refrain from applying constructivism until I have finished it.

Yet his article makes an interesting point. Of late, I have discussed moving Sino-US relations towards a grand strategy constructed around a win-win relationship. Alexander Wendt has some theoretical advice:

Of changing a system from a Hobbesian one to a more Lockean one, he writes: "The vehicle for inducing such change is one's own practice and, in particular, the practice of "altercasting"--a technique of interactor control in which ego uses tactics of self-presentation and stage management in an attempt to frame alter's
definitions of social situations in ways that create the role which ego desires alter to play.95
In effect, in altercasting ego tries to induce alter to take on a new identity (and thereby enlist alter in ego's effort to change itself) by treating alter as if it already had that identity."

Since (I, unfortunately, must nonetheless explain Wendt a little) Wendt points not to anarchy as having a constitutive effect on poor relationships between states but on how one state perceives or believes another state to be, the way to alter a system from one of absolute distrust (Hobbesian) towards one of cooperation (Lockean) is to change the other state's perception of oneself. The second quote illustrates how in Sino-US relations: China must act as if America already sees it as an ally (while reacting using the generous tit-for-tat strategy when America does not respond in kind) and make unilateral overtures appropriately.

President Hu Jintao did just that at the UN this week. This is from Reuters:

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"We will endeavor to cut carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP by a notable margin by 2020 from the 2005 level," Hu said.

The pledge, which marked the first time China has said it will accept measurable curbs on its emissions, was seen as an attempt to counter critics, especially in Washington, who say Beijing is doing too little.
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It is a good start on Beijing's part; more can yet be done. On the Taiwan issue, I believe that Beijing's and Taipei's largest museums should have a cross-museum program set up. It would celebrate their shared culture as well as put pressure on the British Museum to return some of our treasures. Taipei would display many of its best treasures in Beijing for half a year and Beijing would do the same in Taipei; that isn't quite cross-Atlantic, but it's good PR and it is a move that would demonstrate China's peaceful intentions. From another angle, by initiating this, Beijing would symbolically show itself as the center of the Chinese civilization, exploiting the kin-country syndrome that Huntington describes. China would shore up its position within its civilization as well as make a gesture of good faith. As far as using Wendt's theory is concerned, this sharing of cultures would help China form a collective identity with Taiwan, moving the system the two interact in towards a more Lockean direction.

These are simple gestures but effective ones; with some PR work and hot air, China can start acting very harmoniously. And besides, what better way to celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the party than to show some treasures of Chinese culture unseen for nearly a century?