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 announced a defense budget increase of nearly 18 percent. Chinese foreign minister Tang Jiaxuan has warned that there are serious consequences associated with U.S. arms sales to Taiwan.
Satellite images show a new Chinese missile base 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. China is playing a dangerous two-level game of superficial cooperation and subterranean competition with respect to the United States and the broader international community. China's alleged technical assistance to Iraq juxtaposed with efforts to join the WTO are a manifestation of China's approach and are evidence of why the United States must learn to deal with China at multiple levels. Both governments must learn to listen past the rhetoric and prevent a single issue, such as arms sales or human rights, from dominating the bilateral agenda. The United States and China must also recognize that it is difficult to move past rhetoric when passions have been stirred.