China's relationship with the US

The last time Hu Jintao visited Washington, five years ago, the Chinese president was furious at the welcome he received.

Mr Hu was denied the grandeur of a White House state banquet, and given lunch instead. The master of ceremonies, meanwhile, botched his introduction, announcing Mr Hu as the president of the Republic of China, otherwise known as Taiwan.

Some reports suggest that Li Zhaoxing, the then Chinese Foreign minister, paid the price for the poor trip with his job.
Five years on, the balance of power between the US and China has shifted dramatically. This time, Mr Hu has been able to gaze serenely as the full red carpet treatment, including a 21-gun salute and a lavish banquet, has been laid out for him. On Tuesday, Mr Hu was even met privately by Barack Obama for what the US media described as an “intimate dinner”.
The turning point came with the financial crisis. While China’s economy has roared on magnificently, the United States has sunk inexorably into the mire. With Chinese yuan continuing to finance the spending plans of the US government, it is little surprise that US officials find themselves unable to maintain the upper hand.
Worse, the mismanagement on Wall Street destroyed, in the minds of the majority of Chinese, any image of Western expertise and superiority they once entertained. Once deferential Chinese officials now take delight in lambasting the mistakes of their US counterparts. China’s pride has translated into an increasingly assertive attitude abroad. Last year’s Nobel Peace prize ceremony provided a watershed moment, with Chinese officials warning, for the first time, that they would punish any countries that sent their ambassadors to celebrate the award to Liu Xiaobo, a Chinese dissident. A line was drawn in the sand and countries were asked to choose sides.
The stridency has also seen China threaten Japan and its other Asian neighbours to respect sea borders that only Beijing has decided apply.
Behind the posturing, meanwhile, lies the People’s Liberation Army’s growing clout.
But the hubris has played into the hands of US diplomats and driven the countries who ought to be China’s natural allies in the region into the arms of Washington. Meanwhile, Mr Obama’s fortunes have begun to recover, along with the US economy. The US remains, by a long stretch, the world’s richest and most powerful nation.
All of which has fed fears on both sides of the Pacific, among Americans concerned by Chinese protectionism, and among Chinese who fret at being “contained” by the US. Soothing those tensions appears to be the top of the agenda for Mr Hu’s visit, with Chinese spin doctors coming up with a conciliatory advertisement to air on US television and Mr Obama putting on a lavish display of greeting.