U.S.-China Relations To Face Strains, Experts Say

Chinese troops at a welcoming ceremony for Obama at the Great Hall of the People
Photograph: Shawn Thew/EPA

From The Washington Post:

The United States and China are headed for a rough patch in the early months of the new year as the White House appears set to sell a package of weapons to Taiwan and as President Obama plans to meet the Dalai Lama, U.S. officials and analysts said.

The Obama administration is expected to approve the sale of several billion dollars in Black Hawk helicopters and anti-missile batteries to Taiwan early this year, possibly accompanied by a plan gauging design and manufacturing capacity for diesel-powered submarines for the island, which China claims as its territory. The president is also preparing to meet the spiritual leader of Tibet, who is considered a separatist by Beijing. Obama made headlines last year when the White House, in an effort to generate goodwill from China, declined to meet the Dalai Lama, marking the first time in more than a decade that a U.S. president did not meet the religious leader during his occasional visits to Washington.

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My Comment: The relationship will survive .... there are too many issues in which both countries have a commonality of interests that make any disagreement a short term situation. The stress points are going to be economic/financial. With U.S. Government spending completely out of control, the need to borrow money will be on the forefront of U.S. policy .... but my prediction is that the Chinese will be tapped out to purchase any U.S. debt at a time when the U.S. will (really) need such assistance.