This week the U.S. and China held their third Strategic and Economic Dialogue, an annual forum that brings together hundreds of officials for talks on issues of concern for the two nations. While conspiracy-minded observers are wont to see the get-together as the germ of a Group of Two that will one day rule the world, the truth is more mundane.
The S&ED, as it is known, is a get acquainted meeting at which the two governments identify concerns and then try to thrash out agreements that will build trust and confidence among the world's two leading economies. There is considerably more smoke than fire — proof, if nothing else, of the importance of such discussions and the long road the two nations have to travel to build a relationship that one day reaches its potential.
The U.S-China Strategic Dialogue was launched in 2006 by the Bush administration. The title of the forum acknowledged the rising importance of China as a partner of the U.S., but in fact, the discussions focused on economic issues.