This gets to the question of the damage to long-term relations. Since the days of Athens and Sparta, history is littered with conflicts between rising powers and the established status quo. Some see the recent incident as emblematic of a China that will inevitably clash with the United States. Certainly, since the end of the Cold War, the ups and downs of U.S.-China relations do not give great cause for optimism. But China is not and will not become the Soviet Union.
China today is neither ally nor adversary.
Unfortunately, we are conditioned by a half-century of Cold War to see either black hats or white hats. The problem is China is gray and will continue to be for at least a generation as its modernization process plays out. Living with ambiguity is the challenge of China policy. Those who want to isolate China, cut off normal trade and contacts don't have a good alternative to a policy of hard-headed involvement. It bodes a rocky road ahead as both sides try to cooperate to advance their respective interests while at the same time hedging against the fear that U.S.-China relations could drift in a confrontational direction.