Huntsman: U.S. Needs to be More Strategic

Jon Huntsman, the former governor of Utah and ambassador to China who came in third in the New Hampshire Primary was back in the state on Nov. 25, to talk foreign policy and the state of America’s role in the world.

Speaking with Dr. William Martel of Tufts University Fletcher School, Huntsman talked about his time in China, his role as a governor, and also the 2012 presidential campaign.

Huntsman predicted that while America’s role in the conflicts of the Middle East would be winding down, it would need to play a growing role in the Asian-Pacific region. He didn’t believe that the country had really thought through its role yet but that it would need to be active. Huntsman noted that the children of long ago family dynasties were now ruling the countries of China, the Koreas, and Japan, and the conflicts of the past around territories and the future may reemerge.

At the same time, China would need to play more of a role in the Middle East, he surmised, in an effort to curb the radicalism of the region. Huntsman said he was disappointed that the United States was not more of a player in trying to seed “the pockets of despair (in the region) with opportunity.”

China will also have to deal with its own issues as it moves from an agrarian society to a more modern society with the former ambassador to the country noting that more than 600 million farmers would be moving into different occupations. The country’s leaders were consolidating power at the same time more than 100 million bloggers were working to bring down barriers to the Internet.

Huntsman noted that many of the cities were swelling from 20 million to 40 million people and were dealing with issues such as air quality and broken infrastructure due to the changes.

“It will never look like a Jeffersonian democracy,” he said, but it would move towards “a social democracy with greater competition for positions within the party elite.”

The recent federal government shutdown though was making some question America’s commitment to the region, since President Barack Obama chose not to attend a summit to stay in Washington. It was an opportunity for other world leaders to look and wonder about the U.S., he said.

“We don’t use strategy much anymore,” Huntsman said while calling for better long-term foreign policy plans instead of instant actions and successes to trade sectors and the removal of barriers.

About halfway into the talk, Huntsman and Martel switched gears and talked politics, as well as the state of the nation.

Huntsman said while the Internet had made expanded American’s minds to information it also made the people more insolated.

“We’re confused,” he said. “I think we’re terribly confused about our role in the world.”

Huntsman called for the country to “live our values” while “projecting an image to the world that is indispensible … when we don’t, like we are today, we become a laughingstock.”

The U.S. should start by “getting our own house in order” and “practicing what we preach,” he said. Huntsman also called for a refocused domestic and foreign agenda, not unlike the fight against communism during the Cold War that brought most Americans together. He admitted that the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks were “a body blow we never thought we’d take” but added that the economic crisis had also traumatized the country.

At the same time, while serving on the boards of Ford and Caterpillar, Huntsman said American manufacturing was coming back and added that globalization shouldn’t be feared. He said for the first time, factories were closing overseas and moving back to the states because resources were cheaper and products were remaining competitive. Ford, he noted, was now exporting Mustangs to China for the first time too.

During a short question and answer period, Huntsman was asked and commented about a future presidential run and why his ideas didn’t connect in 2012, human rights violations in China, and currency manipulation.