These days, the official description of the U.S.-China relationship is that it is "complex." This banal characterization is preferred by both governments for several reasons: In addition to being true, it helps deflect pressure from both sides and deflates expectations. All the complexities of the relationship were on display last week during Chinese President Hu Jintao's visit to the United States, his first as president of his country.
For the Chinese, the top priority was the recognition afforded Mr. Hu. Thus, Beijing pressed for a full state visit with all the trimmings: a 21-gun salute, the Oval Office meeting with President George W. Bush, and a White House dinner. Chinese diplomats wanted all the pomp and circumstance that Mr. Hu's predecessors received on their first visits to the U.S. and which would highlight his status as an equal and honored guest.
The Chinese got most of the items on their wish list. There was a 21-gun salute, the White House meeting and meal. But it was lunch, not dinner, no flags flew from street lamps as during visits by other heads of state, and the U.S. deemed the trip a "working visit" rather than a "state visit." The distinctions are important: Negotiations over protocol consumed both sides and the gap between the two governments overshadowed the substance of the meeting. The ill will was reportedly so palpable that there was relief last September when the originally scheduled visit was postponed because of Hurricane Katrina.