Thanksgiving

When I lived in Beijing over two decades ago as Manufacturers Hanover Trust Company’s first representative, a bank name which no longer exists, I received an invitation to a state banquet to be hosted by President Reagan. Prior to the occasion, an advance party arrived, including Donald Regan, former Chair of Merrill Lynch and incumbent Secretary of the United States Treasury. The phone rang in my office. It was Ambassador Hummel’s secretary asking if I would prepare a briefing for Mr. Regan. Evidently, the Secretary was keen to hear from commercial people on the ground rather than simply being handled by government functionaries. I happily accepted.

In the context of the challenges facing us as we tried to make our way in Beijing, I prepared a one-page memo dwelling on the issue of “reciprocity”—a word loaded with significance. Not only was it shamelessly bandied about during countless toasting ceremonies between Chinese and foreigners, but it also had a powerful significance in the philosophical tradition. Bao, the concept of reciprocity, was linked to obligations shared in relationships traditionally governing society. The word might have been cheapened by insincere usage at banquets of the day, but when used in Chinese, it conjured up shared duties which kept society securely on the rails. The latter meaning, though, would be a private pleasure when it came to my chat with the Secretary of the Treasury.

I was ushered in to see the flinty Mr. Regan who was quite eager to hear what it was like to do business in China. My litany of examples was clearly taken on board, such as the onerous regulation of foreign banks while the Bank of China competed freely against us in our own backyard, and foreign business people ghettoized in expensive hotels because the government prohibited rental of apartments while Chinese abroad were completely unrestricted by their foreign hosts. With momentum behind me, I just couldn’t resist. I concluded my audience by saying that if such inequities were simply explained away as inevitable results of conflicting systems and traditions, then we must resign ourselves to continued exploitation; but if they were recognized as violations of the spirit of reciprocity, then we could link their correction to mutual self-interest that the Chinese would easily understand. My minutes of fame came to an end.

Later that day, the Secretary was giving a speech to his Chinese hosts and foreigners had been invited. Pals in the commercial section of the embassy happened to mention that they were really under the gun because Mr. Regan had insisted upon last minute and fundamental revisions of his