Beijing lacks a clear sense of the Bush administration's China policy and is not happy about what it has seen thus far. China sees the Bush administration giving priority to preserving U.S. alliances in the Asia-Pacific region, including those with Japan and South Korea. Beijing interprets U.S. actions as hegemonic behavior intended to contain China. While it is necessary to build U.S. policy on regional alliances, it is also important to recognize that East Asia's security is equally dependent on cooperative U.S.-China relations. The calendar will not wait for the kinks of this transition period to work themselves out.
News items continue to fill the vacuum.
China recently announced a defense budget increase of nearly 18 percent. Both Mr. Qian and the Chinese foreign minister, Tang Jiaxuan, have warned of serious consequences associated with U.S. arms sales to Taiwan. A decision on that by the Bush administration is expected next month. U.S. satellite images show that a Chinese missile base has been built that is capable of targeting Taiwan. Washington will want to rush to judgment about China, but U.S. policy cannot be based solely on reactions to Chinese behavior.