US-China Relations Continue to Deteriorate

As China continues its aggressive behavior and the Obama administration struggles to find a coherent response, relations between the nations continue to break down. “I think it’s going to get worse before it gets better,” William Reinsch, chairman of the U.S.-China Economic Security Review Commission, tells The Hill. Focus has centered on the relationship ahead of Chinese President Hu Jintao’s visit to Washington, D.C., next week.

“Changes in government in China and Washington will challenge both capitals, but the events in Beijing may be more important than the GOP’s control of the House,” according to The Hill.

Says Charles Freeman, a former chief trade negotiator with China during the George W. Bush administration, “It’s a government in Beijing that is extraordinarily risk-averse, that is politically weak because of the transition, and a leader in Hu who is worried about his legacy, and a lot of people in China who hope his legacy falls apart.”