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Although such maneuvering will not tempt Beijing to challenge Washington militarily, China's growing economic and diplomatic presence on the world scene is engendering greater confidence among Chinese leaders. For example, U.S. criticism of China's human rights record was uncharacteristically reciprocated by a spokesperson for China's governing Cabinet who specifically cited accounts of prisoner abuse by U.S. military and civilian personnel at Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo Bay, and other prisons in Iraq and Afghanistan.
In the foreseeable future, China's economic position vis-à-vis the United States and its role in the North Korean nuclear talks remains key to U.S.-China relations. On the economic front, because China's rapid growth has been fueled by a large surplus of exports over imports in trade with the United States, Beijing is not expected to "pull the plug" on U.S. trade short of looming and inevitable armed conflict resulting from a clear Taiwanese declaration of de jure independence. Beijing would like to regain political control of Taiwan without a fight, and to that end China will continue to enmesh the island in a web of economic relations that Taipei will increasingly be loathe to sacrifice.
Like all presidents ever since Richard Nixon "opened" China, George Bush has chosen, after initially hesitating, to try to ride the Chinese dragon--but with spurs on his boots. Having managed to climb on, he cannot get off without the risk of being thrown. For its part, China has decided to soar on the eagle to the sky's limit. Beijing believes that if it can hitch a ride while the eagle economically exhausts itself, China can at last preempt U.S. influence in Asia.
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