The Chinese decision to send warships to the Scarborough shoals was intended to send a message not only to the Philippines but also to the United States as well as other Asian countries in dispute with China over the South China Sea.

Chen’s departure from the US embassy in Beijing points to the unwillingness and inability of the US to bring to bear any pressure on China on human rights issues.

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.