The noose slowly tightens

By Aussiegirl

The Chinese continue to encircle us, in Africa, in Asia, in Central and South Ameica, meanwhile buying up our debt. When the day comes when they decide to tighten the noose, then what?

Peter Brookes on China on National Review Online

The "message" Chinese President Hu Jintao most wants the American people to come away with as he visits the U.S. this week and meets with President Bush today is: Although China is a rising global power, there is no need to fear its ascendance because Beijing is committed to being a responsible international player.

At first blush that may appear to be true — at least on the trade front. Chinese leaders spent weeks in the U.S. before Hu's visit buying billions in Boeing airliners and legal copies of Microsoft software. It even hinted at revaluing the yuan to ease the U.S.'s $200 billion trade deficit with China.

But there is another, dark side to Chinese foreign policy that is grossly underreported. That is China's cozy relationships with a string of rogue states that aids and abets such vexing problems as political repression, human-rights abuse, poor governance, WMD programs, and, even, conflict. [...]

We should welcome a China that plays a positive, constructive role on the world stage, but if Beijing is serious about that engagement, it's going to have to turn its well-rehearsed words into deeds.