Its aging Communist leaders view the Summer Games as the Holy Grail of world recognition. And it is because of those lofty international ambitions that China cannot risk having the flap over the spy plane escalate into a drawn-out showdown with the Bush administration, analysts say. The International Olympic Committee will vote on the 2008 Olympics in July. The WTO is currently considering China's acceptance. And President Bush is mulling an invitation for a summit in Beijing this fall.
China has nothing to gain by provoking an international outburst.
China has refused to allow U.S. diplomats to see the crew or plane. The crew was forced to make an emergency landing Sunday on the island of Hainan after colliding with a Chinese fighter jet that was shadowing it over international waters. U.S. officials insist that China has no right to inspect the plane, which is carrying sophisticated monitoring equipment. It's not in the interest of either side to let it happen. In Bush, China's leaders are facing a different kind of American leader.