$ ?% i0 k, ]0 _! y+ c; jHu's visit spotlights China's two faces 2 i5 n' e8 L4 n/ l0 Q' Y; [ / Y+ v( u6 y kWashington Post Foreign Service : {( }/ A7 b0 L8 z$ @- {9 mSunday, January 16, 20118 |& J; i- {% g2 `
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HONG KONG - When Hu Jintao visits the United States on Tuesday, he'll have a regal entourage of aides, bodyguards and limousines. But the Chinese leader will leave behind in Beijing the most potent totem of his power: the title of general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party. 4 f0 h8 c( ^) w) `- | t& d) W" z* y& YHe's not giving up his day job as head of the world's largest political organization, but during his four-day U.S. trip, he'll assume an alternative identity. He'll be greeted at the White House and a Chicago auto-parts factory as Mr. President, a made-for-export alias used mostly for encounters with foreigners. , }* w+ |, L! R$ a. m + k! Z1 K! a# F8 kThe morphing of roles flows from the protocol of his mission. Hu travels to the United States to represent China as a nation, not just its ruling party. But the shift obscures the true nature, and also curious limitations, of Hu's authority - his stewardship of a sprawling party apparatus that stands above all formal institutions of government but is no longer a rigid monolith obedient to a single leader. It also helps explain why Washington often has so much trouble figuring out who is making decisions in Beijing and why. % }1 E9 I1 y, p
) J+ Z# o; X+ A `* ^: I8 x中国党政不分 华府困扰 ; _8 ]( K. M8 V# U
身兼多项要职的胡锦涛十八日访美时,他是以中华人民共和国主席之姿、而非另一个更有份量与权势的头衔——中国共产党中央委员会总书记,亲临华府白宫与美国总统奥巴马举行会谈。 5 I, r! Z% p2 P0 b+ \6 E) h* L5 A1 a" V- @
北京到底谁当家?老美很困惑" P* J- h+ X( j/ P: F" w
+ y1 ^- C9 ] D6 i @, o 胡锦涛当然没有放弃中共总书记一职,暂时转换头衔只是为了符合此行宗旨——代表中华人民共和国,而非中国共产党出访。以党领政或党政不分对中国人或许稀松平常,但看在外人眼中,此等党政权力重叠却徒增困惑,模糊了胡锦涛的权限本质与局限,也是华府经常搞不清谁才是北京当家作主的老大,以及为什么是这样的重要原因之一。 * }0 }: s E5 g5 z, I8 ?) A T- i. G5 e. U+ A( d! B& ` 随着中国日益强大与富裕,北京领导人的权限反而更为分散与不集中,甚至说更为大权旁落。即便是党政军“一把手”胡锦涛,有时也会被部属蒙在鼓里,特别是人民解放军。此外,中国的朝鲜政策虽以国家利益为本,但亦未放弃与朝鲜劳动党的多年密切关系,以致负责朝鲜事务的单位并非中国外交部,而是中共中央对外联络部。对美国而言,中国在朝鲜事务上的任何决策,都是黑箱作业。 ; @: W, R0 J$ s6 d: P) {. z4 Q K; s
走过强人时代 中共采集体领导制 . W; v Q% e$ j2 S$ {+ O% t" Y9 k: H( W H s6 ] O
前克林顿政府副助理国务卿谢淑丽(Susan Shirk)指出,当今中国政体已非由毛泽东或邓小平的单一强人统治,而是集体领导式的寡头政治。自一九九七年邓小平过世以来,中国中央领导阶层的权力分散更加迅速,反映出官僚共识妥协的结果。党员八千万人的中共权力无边,总能迅速打压对党权威的直接挑战。中国日后在外交决策上会变得与美国愈来愈像,但两者仍存有一大差异,即“天听”始终只闻其声,但不见其人。, ]- f/ J9 C+ H ^4 B
2 H' U, l; L7 V% x% g5 I- e4 |+ _ 谢淑丽说,这正是外国与中国交往最大的挫折与矛盾来源;中国市场经济向世界敞开双臂,但其决策过程却极其隐晦。 * S8 Q5 k* T0 t+ T. m8 f+ _ 2 }7 O2 ]% t/ t& m9 T( @: f7 n 当胡锦涛明年交棒给内定接班的国家副主席习近平后,过渡时期的高层动态是否会让民族主义与反美势力更为猖獗?中国高层向来行事审慎,但一个既封闭但又包容冲突的压力(包括公众舆论)的政治体制下,专断、不认错与残酷好斗,或许是高层最佳的行事之道。胡锦涛本次访美,华府决策者也将密切观察北京权力转移的蛛丝马迹。/ q8 _3 l3 G: h: E7 k" _9 s
2 Q: L! m. e z5 G8 f 4 U/ P. L7 ]$ R: S8 p6 h: u本次胡奥会将对2011年的中美关系走势具有重要的指标意义