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Global Connections and U.S. Prosperity:
California Leads the Way
G.W. Berry Smart, Stockton, CA
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ith the war in Israel adding to concerns about the conflict in Ukraine, terrorism, drug trafficking and a slowing global economy, it is not surprising that nationalism, hints of our old isolationism, and glaring cases of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia are growing issues. Yet while fears of worldly perils seem natural, the exaggerated rhetoric, animosity filled slogans, and self-righteous posturing mainly reflect ignorance, prejudice, and hatred. The world comes off scariest for those who know least about it and even resist learning. Folks who didn’t know that San Francisco was serving (Nov. 12-17) as the host of the Summit meeting for the 21 nations of the Asia and Pacific Economic Conference (APEC) until the demonstrations and traffic jams recently complicated their lives were certainly not without provocation for damning the politicians who organized the event. Yet again, their frustration and failure to appreciate or even consider the benefits the meeting will probably provide our community and country will warp and discolor their attitudes about our foreign relations. The APEC Summit in San Francisco brought together about 3,000 international visitors with about 5,000 U.S. participants for meetings about business, science and cli-
mate, education, and government. It enabled President Biden to have extensive personal meetings with his counterparts, including Presidents Xi Jinping of China and Lopez Obrador of Mexico – our two largest trade partners, and other leading countries. Together these 21 nations account for over forty percent of the world’s people, 62 percent of the global GDP, and half of world trade. This latter characteristic is one of the reasons the Asia-Pacific basin is so important. It already accounts for 60 percent of U.S. exports and has facilitated a twenty-five percent increase in pre-Pandemic trade – providing a major contribution to the U.S. led global economic recovery since 2020. President Biden’s meetings also resulted immediately in major new breakthroughs in controlling the flow of deadly fentanyl to the Unites States, improved military communications with China, and Chinese recognition of the importance of the two countries as both competitors and leaders of the global economy. The success of the Biden administration in convincing our APEC partners to select San Francisco for this important gathering of the Asia-Pacific community now matches its prowess in bringing the Ninth Summit of the Americas in June 2022 to Los Angeles, the home of the largest Hispanic/Latino community in our country. That meeting was accompanied by hemispheric gatherings of civic, youth and business leaders from North, Central, and South America and the Caribbean. Despite divisions in the region, the U.S. pragmatic approach that focused on urgent issues, namely migration, public health and recovery from the Pandemic, and the environmental crisis turned out to be the first major international gathering since the start of the Pandemic. The results of the conference centered on practical
agreements launching the Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity and the revival of the U.S. hemispheric effort in support of democracy which the Trump administration had dropped. As the global region that was hardest hit in both human lives and economic costs by the Pandemic, the economic boost that the U.S. has provided has been especially important. Additionally, the topics and timeliness of the summit helped motivate local and civic leaders from throughout the region and resulted in the organization of a summit of cities of the Americas that was held in Denver in April. Of course the global role for California that has been so substantially boosted by the Biden administration is much more complex and far less visible than the international conferences which have been held here. Indeed, one of the most important aspects of California’s global involvement has been the way that initiatives by the state have led our national engagements. Just before President Biden’s productive meeting with Xi Jinping in San Francisco, Governor Gavin Newsom had met with Xi in Beijing as part of his trip to Hong Kong and China to boost climate and economic cooperation between China and California. Besides the successful groundwork for the presidential conclave, Newsom’s trip had also punctuated the importance of climate cooperation between the two nations which account for 42 percent of global greenhouse gases. Yet Chinese adoption of increasingly successful air pollution programs in 40 cities based on those pioneered by California are one of the reasons the encounter proved so useful. The tradition of an enhanced relationship between California and China dates back to Governor Schwarzenegger and was continued continued on next page on a bipartisan NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2023 Joaquín 17
