It’s probably fair to say that the relationship between Obama and Zhongnanhai has gotten off to an uneven start. On one hand, we have presidential hatchet man treasury secretary Timothy Geithner’s provocative comments on revaluation of the yuan (can I say again, as somebody who gets paid in US dollars, easy does it boys), on the other is word that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will break with tradition and visit Asia (including China) on her first trip overseas as America’s top diplomatic official.
Closer to home, as the US financial crisis washes up on Chinese shores, folks in the PRC are dealing with the fallout in different ways, some through forced optimism and wishful thinking, others finding the best medicine in gentle barbs and jokes.
Moreover, after eight years of watching George W. Bush making a hash of democracy and America’s image abroad, President Obama, right out of the box, now presents an interesting and complex set of challenges for the world’s despots. It is no secret that the Chinese leadership would have preferred four more years of George W. and for all the wrong reasons.
But rapprochement is a dish best served warm, and David Bandurski has collected