Sentence:  In conferences with Nationalist China 's dapper , diminutive Vice President Chen Cheng , Mr. Kennedy assured Chiang Kai-shek 's emissary that the U. S. <WSD>is</WSD> as firmly opposed as ever to the admission of Red China to the United Nations . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun)