Seeing red

摘要

If america and China had wanted to test how their relations might play out as self-confessed "strategic competitors" rather than once-billed "strategic partners", neither would have chosen to do it now, just days before America is to decide what new weapons it will sell to Taiwan, which China claims as its own. Barely two weeks ago George Bush and China's foreign-policy mandarin, Qian Qichen, were stressing their determination to manage one of the world's most sensitive relationships as carefully as their differences—over human rights and missile defences, as well as Taiwan and much else-would allow.