"I had a copy of the Soviet Constitution and I read it with great interest. And I saw all kinds of terms in there that sound just exactly like our own: 'Freedom of assembly' and 'freedom of speech' and so forth. Of course, they don't allow them to have those things, but they're in there in the constitution. But I began to wonder about the other constitutions -- everyone has one -- and our own, and why so much emphasis on ours. And then I found out, and the answer was very simple -- that's why you don't notice it at first. But it is so great that it tells the entire difference. All those other constitutions are documents that say, 'We, the government, allow the people the following rights,' and our Constitution says 'We the People, allow the government the following privileges and rights.' We give our permission to government to do the things that it does. And that's the whole story of the difference--why we're unique in the world and why no matter what our troubles may be, we're going to overcome." -Ronald Reagan
But you know very well that not every democracy has a written constitution and not every country with a written constitution follows it.
If you're suggesting that we can't give China credit for anything until they do things our way or see things our way, I'd say that's completely unreasonable. Reagan's words are good political rhetoric for times of political confrontation. But I guarantee you that if Reagan were president today, he'd be doing exactly as Bush has done--visiting China and voicing cautious optimism.