Pres. Obama on China: More Power Means More Responsibility

OBAMA: "Remember, China has been run during our lifetimes by a communist party that has been much more anti-Western in the past. We went through a period over the course of 20 years, in the '90s and on through maybe the onset of my presidency, where, because state-sponsored capitalism and an export-driven model was very successful, China was less interested in making waves. But, you know, you've got over a billion people, one of the largest economies now in the world. And so it's to be expected that they will want a bigger seat at the table when it comes to international affairs. And what we've said consistently is we welcome the peaceful rise of China, consistent with international norms. That's good for everybody. An impoverished and collapsing China would be dangerous for everybody. And, you know, we should want China to take on more responsibilities, not only for its own people, but also for a wide range of international problems and conflicts, whether it's climate change or disaster relief or dealing with things like Ebola. But what we have said to the Chinese -- and we've been firm consistently about this -- is you have to recognize that with increasing power comes increasing responsibilities.