"If China wants to be a constructive, active player in the world economy, it's got to respect intellectual property rights or it makes it pretty impossible to do business with them"
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Glickman’s line is diplomacy wearing brass knuckles. On the surface it reads like a reasonable prerequisite for partnership: if China wants the benefits of integration, it should follow the rules that make markets legible. The phrasing “constructive, active player” flatters even as it fences China in, offering membership in the club only if it accepts the club’s enforcement mechanisms.
The real work happens in the conditional: “If China wants...” sets up a gatekeeping logic that casts the United States (and allied business interests) as the arbiter of legitimacy in the global economy. “Respect intellectual property rights” isn’t just a moral claim about creativity; it’s a strategic demand that protects high-margin sectors where the U.S. is strong: pharmaceuticals, software, entertainment, advanced manufacturing. By narrowing the problem to IP, Glickman also simplifies a messy geopolitical relationship into a compliance issue, making pressure campaigns and trade remedies sound like common sense rather than power politics.
The blunt coda - “pretty impossible to do business with them” - functions as both warning and justification. It implies that reluctance to trade isn’t xenophobia or protectionism; it’s forced on responsible actors by China’s choices. Contextually, this kind of statement fits the late-1990s/2000s arc of deepening economic interdependence paired with intensifying anxiety over piracy, technology transfer, and uneven enforcement. It’s a politician translating corporate grievance into a public-facing principle: play fair, or we reserve the right to treat you as an unreliable partner.
The real work happens in the conditional: “If China wants...” sets up a gatekeeping logic that casts the United States (and allied business interests) as the arbiter of legitimacy in the global economy. “Respect intellectual property rights” isn’t just a moral claim about creativity; it’s a strategic demand that protects high-margin sectors where the U.S. is strong: pharmaceuticals, software, entertainment, advanced manufacturing. By narrowing the problem to IP, Glickman also simplifies a messy geopolitical relationship into a compliance issue, making pressure campaigns and trade remedies sound like common sense rather than power politics.
The blunt coda - “pretty impossible to do business with them” - functions as both warning and justification. It implies that reluctance to trade isn’t xenophobia or protectionism; it’s forced on responsible actors by China’s choices. Contextually, this kind of statement fits the late-1990s/2000s arc of deepening economic interdependence paired with intensifying anxiety over piracy, technology transfer, and uneven enforcement. It’s a politician translating corporate grievance into a public-facing principle: play fair, or we reserve the right to treat you as an unreliable partner.
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| Topic | Business |
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