The visit to Washington last week by President Xi Jinping, the leader of the world's second-biggest power, illustrated Lyndon Johnson's saying that politicians need to be able to "walk and chew gum at the same time."
The meetings that Xi, the most powerful Chinese leader in decades, held with President Barack Obama almost seemed like a distraction, given the focus on Islamic terrorists, tragedy and dysfunction in the Middle East and the maneuvering of Vladimir Putin.
Those all are dire, immediate challenges for the U.S. But for the next generation, relations between what are likely to be the only two superpowers may be the most important geopolitical issue.