China has been responsive. The policy is to soothe the dragon, at least in matters of trade. But if trade status could make it unhappy, it may be nothing compared to the wrath at the prospect of a nuclear missile defense system. The Chinese make no secret of their opposition. If China wishes to retain its deterrent capability in the wake of a U.S. decision to deploy, it will have to decide very soon to devote more resources to its strategic forces.
European allies are less belligerent, but uneasy.
Little is said about these matters. Only one member of Congress showed up at a U.N.-related New York conference about nuclear proliferation. He thinks we're doing the same thing with nuclear missile defense, with its fantasy of surviving a nuclear war, while fueling another arms race. No alarm bells are going off, however. The only bells being heard now are the ring of the cash register.