The issue of Chen Guangcheng will require much time and many rounds of negotiations so that neither China nor the US “lose face”.

Xi Jinping tried his best to lower the temperature by suggesting that the vast Pacific Ocean has ‘ample space’ for both China and the United States.

Coming close on the heels of the Chinese decision to build two nuclear power plants at Karachi as well as the continued assistance to the construction of nuclear reactors at Chashma, Xun Wang’s case raises the worrying spectre of spotty Chinese implementation of and compliance with international export control regulations.

Primarily because of the uncertainties surrounding US-China relations, the Hu-Obama summit ended in a stalemate with both leaders agreeing to disagree on important matters.

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden visited Beijing on October 16 – 21 to discuss cooperation in manned space flight. While one swallow does not make a summer, it may signal that the US may be considering greater engagement with China in outer space, particularly manned flight.

Sino-US rivalry has been simmering for the past many years, as China has replaced Russia in the American scheme of things as its most potent adversary.