China’s expansionism is already established as its national strategy

── With the election of a new general secretary for the Communist Party of China at the National Congress around the end of September, it is believed that the next president has already been all but decided. It will more than likely be Xi Jinping, but does Secretary of State Clinton think that China will change when the Xi Jinping regime comes in? Tell me about your projections for the future.

Clinton’s G.S. I think it will change. It is believed that the way of thinking of the next incoming regime has been working since the regime was decided. So it has already started having an impact since about last year, and I think that expansionism has been set as a definite national strategy.

Then there is internal persuasion. It’s a question of whether the regime can implement expansionism while skillfully controlling things such as a mild economic recession, protests, and internal affairs such as whether events like Africa’s Jasmine Revolution will have repercussions.

However, I feel that such people may follow a “big China policy”, and there are also issues over independence in autonomous regions, but they will fall silent if China shows that it is trying further to rule other countries. I think the feeling that independence may no longer be possible comes out.

A “strong America” will not emerge if it weakens economically

── Does the Secretary of State Clinton have something like a strategy to lead China to democratization?

Clinton’s G.S. There are human rights activists at work here and there, so the U.S. is supporting democratization in different ways. Without naming countries, the U.S. is providing activists with a range of assistance and support.

It will soon be said, that China will say, that America too has fallen rather low.

Um. Not surprisingly, the weakening economically is painful. We need our economy to become a bit stronger.

I don’t think that the Democrats are strategically strong on economic policy. This may decide the next presidential election.

I don’t think there is that many people who want Romney to become president, but there are growing expectations that he may be good at making money. It is surprisingly easy for this to become public sentiment. Of course, if we can’t make money, a “strong America” will not emerge. We won’t solve much by withdrawing, well, because the last Depression started from America.

A depression must not occur with a Democratic administration again, and Europe too is currently in an extremely dangerous situation. If the American economy were strong, it would be able to help, but it is not at the moment. Even China has started to reach out toward the European Union.

Because we know whether or not America will actually go into a decline, the international balance of power will collapse, and hegemony will move, we may enter the field of God if it gets to that point. I wish there were a bit more of a future for America.

If Russia and China band together, America won’t be able to intervene in the Syrian issue

── Until now Russia and China have often gone against America’s intentions. Because China and Russia are also opposed to and blocking U.N. Security Council attempts to impose sanctions, I hear that there is movement to try and resolve the issues outside of the U.N.

Clinton’s G.S. Normally, America would definitely intervene, but it can’t if China and Russia join forces, because it would become “part 2 of the Iraq issue” if America were to go it alone and intervene in Syria, although the U.N. is inactive (for example, the 1998 “Operation Desert Fox” and the 2003 “Iraq War” where it carried out airstrikes in Iraq together with England without the approval of the U.N. Security Council).

America is not doing anything despite the thousands, tens of thousands of people, being killed at the hands of the Syrian government forces. It goes against international justice, but there being strong countries with a completely opposite way of thinking, makes it difficult. Syria, too, may be trying to increase its allies. So, a proxy war is underway in such a place.

It’s not only Syria. This may involve Iran next. If America intervenes in Syria, and goes in to destroy the Assad regime, Iran will also be on the alert, seeing that America will surely enter its nation, too.

However, because it is clear that Iran also has underground links to North Korea and China, it is thought that it will turn into a quagmire if it is provided with supplies and weapons, and tries to further weaken America.

So I feel there is something wrong if America’s withdrawal from the Islamic world continues.
We have to work out a new system for this.

The Israel and Iran issue also gives me a headache

── What do you think of this issue between Israel and Iran?

Clinton’s G.S. Ah, this gives me a headache, too. Because it always just happens.

As for what we would do if Israel were to carry out airstrikes, well, I think America would have no choice but to support them, but anti-American sentiment is mounting throughout the whole of Arabia, that’s for sure.

But if I were, to be more exact, asked whether Israel were righteous; it’s a touchy area.

From Arabia’s perspective, there is no mistaking that Israel is a threat to the whole of the Middle East, knowing that they probably also have nuclear weapons.

Despite this, if America says that countries such as Arabia and North Korea must not have nuclear weapons, but it’s okay for Israel to have them, then naturally it will be seen as discriminatory, and would simply be called a double standard.

Because America has an armful of regional flare-ups and not enough power, it would be good if the European powers helped. In that sense, it is certain that America is also troubled by Japan’s decline.

China’s spy operations and the U.S. military issue:
The Clinton administration’s “swollen China” had problems strategically

──There may be Chinese lobbyists or spy-like people in America too, but are we right in assuming that such people also go to countries such as South Korea and Japan and incite antipatriotic activities?

Clinton’s G.S. Oh, they go there. The number of Chinese students going to America to study has been increasing, but I don’t think they purely want to study in America.

They create many such lobbyists and business partners, then they attract Americans and American businesses to China, and forge close relations. Then it seems they try to put the screws on them with something like a spider web.

In this sense, I wonder whether the expansion of China to that extent during the Clinton administration was a problem strategically.

The prospect for the American presidential election:
President Obama and Secretary Clinton were originally lawyers, and are not strong in economics

Clinton’s G.S. Hmm. Well, Obama is basically not very familiar with economics.
Well, I can’t really talk, but basically lawyers don’t know about economics.

Obama is also a lawyer, but this is not good. Because he will simply throw money at lawyers in Chicago’s ghettos, it’s impossible.

I was not in charge of the ghettoes, but because I am a lawyer, I am simply not strong in economics.

── Unemployment is still extremely high in America.

Clinton’s G.S. Yes. And that’s why Romney is popular. Although there are fears that Mormonism may become the official religion, if Romney becomes president. There is even the notion that money is, of course, more important than that.

And if labor in America becomes cheap for business, Muslims will be brought in, and their numbers will gradually increase further because America is liberal in that sense, and businesses will freely make their own inferences in light of this.

Well, I wonder how things will turn out with a Mormon president (sigh). I wonder if perhaps America will be on bad terms with Europe.

That said, he would be good as the mayor of Salt Lake City (the headquarters of Mormonism). In terms of capability, a job like hosting the Tokyo Olympics would be perfect.

Personally, he may be good at making money, but the question is whether he can do that at a national level. Further, there is the issue of whether his sense of justice is right or not.

That’s why, even if he assumes the presidency, problems such as money scandals may erupt in many ways.

I think he’s the type of person who has skeletons in the closet. I have that feeling. In that sense, I think that Obama has a cleaner impression.