That is a meaningful accomplishment and something that is viewed as essential throughout East Asia. Still, it does not for a moment suggest that we are satisfied with the progress we have made on a range of key issues, about which we care deeply. First, a few well-known but important facts. China is not only the most populous country in the world, with 1.2 billion people, but it has the largest standing army. China is a nuclear power, and, along with France, the only country in the world still testing nuclear weapons, to our regret.
China possesses ballistic missiles, including ones capable of reaching the United States.
It is a permanent member of the UN Security Council, with the rights and responsibilities that go with membership in that exclusive club. Such facts, plus others I will cite later, make China an extremely important and potentially difficult neighbor. As recently as 25 years ago, China was a revolutionary power bent on the subversion of its neighbors. Its size and power make its behavior and evolution a source of intense interest to all of the countries of East Asia and a focus of their international relations. It is not just China's size and potential, but some of its actions that have concerned its neighbors.