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Absent from recent U.S. visit: Flag-waving crowds for Chinese President Hu Jintao

When Chinese President Hu Jintao landed in Washington, D.C. earlier this month to attend a nuclear summit, one group of flag-waving greeters apparently did not show up at the airport: Throngs of ethnic Chinese.

That fact might have been overlooked by some observors in the United States.

Security at the Washington, D.C. summit was tight, as the Washington Post reported, and that might have contributed to a report about the lack of a welcoming crowd.

But Xinhua, the Chinese news agency, moved a story (use Google translation tool for English) about the absence of beaming, cheering Chinese, reporting that Chinese officials did not want to inconvenience Chinese expatriates living in the Washington, D.C. area.

So, Hu’s touchdown in the United States was much more low key.

As Xinhua reported:

President Hu Jintao and other central leaders fully understand that the hard work of overseas compatriots, decided to simplify the arrangements.

Why is this important?

In recent years at least, senior Chinese officials typically have been welcomed during international arrivals not only by their host governments but also by Chinese expatriates and overseas students.

They waved flags, held banners with warm words and clapped as he prepared to go to his next destination.

The reaction to this recent request to continue with daily life was, well, appreciation for senior Chinese officials.

Xinhua included this comment from Zhu Li Chong, identified as chairman of Chinese Associations in New York:

The patriotism of overseas Chinese can be expressed through a variety of ways, each point of our motherland are encouraged by progress and change. 

The official explanation might need some parsing because – as we’ve seen from recent Chinese history – senior officials know that having 20 percent of the world’s population can be an asset when the goal is to drum up support, often at short notice.

It could very well be that the Chinese leader did not want ethnic Chinese in the United States to take time off from their jobs or classes to gather and greet him.

But the Chinese leader’s visit occurred at a time when “soft power” are the words of choice.

They are used to tamp down global perception that China – its government and the country – is rising incredibly fast and might overshadow other countries, including the United States.

It’s not just the United States that has concerns. Neighboring countries in Asia – Japan, for instance – are following China’s rise in the world.

There is nothing wrong with a country leaving the past and growing economically and politically in the world.

The United States experienced this growth, especially following World War II.

The difference, I think, is that countries are a bit uncertain about China’s new rise and how it will affect them – and that senior Chinese leaders are truly capable, in many ways, of achieving their goals.

So, how will those goals – which sometimes are opaque – affect other countries, the environment and the global economy?

China’s naval fleet is becoming more modern, as The New York Times reported, capable of acting as a forward-power force.

The valuation of the Chinese renminbi remains a hot topic, especially with trade deficits and exports.

From the Chinese perspective, this rise might be welcomed, given how many in that country are aware of how China has been perceived as a weak nation for centuries.

A case in point was last year’s 60th National Day parade in Beijing: Analysts noted that the extravaganza of people and military vehicles served the purpose of rallying Chinese in the country.

But Westerners and others around the world, no doubt, paid attention to what cameras captured.

Dan Chung, a photojournalist with The Guardian, posted this excellent clip from that event.

So, by having a crowd of enthusiastic Chinese expatriates waiting for Hu to land in the United States might have drawn too much attention to the country’s global position in 2010.

Keep in mind that on paper, in many ways, the country is strong economically.

Its economy has grown for years, more Chinese can afford nicer apartment homes and cars, real estate prices are booming and the numbers of Chinese students attending universities in the United States, European countries and Australia are growing.

Yes, there are many areas – such as helping rural residents and the tens of millions of migrant workers - that China needs to work on.

But China in 2010 is very much different than a decade or so ago.

As a side note, I actually enjoy seeing Chinese crowds line the streets or gather at the airports in the United States to welcome Hu.

In 2006, when he stopped in the Seattle area and before visiting Washington, D.C., busloads of people lined the downtown streets.

It gave me a new experience.

There were critics, too.

Some jockeyed for space on the streets to put their banners in front of ones which they disagreed.

When the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual and political leader, visited Seattle in 2008, a large group of ethnic Chinese gathered at the University of Washington to exercise their First Amendment rights protected in the United States.

It’s fair to say that the crowd opposed the Dalai Lama.

As I’ve said before, President Barack Obama has issued an invitation to the Chinese leader for a visit – a state one, I presume – this year.

When that event rolls around, I wonder who will show up to greet the Chinese leader.