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While China has responded to U.S. arms sales to Taiwan with strong rhetoric, its actions are still well within regular channels of protest and should not be over-interpreted by U.S. observers.
The contraction in global demand set off by the financial crisis has led to escalating trade tensions between China and the United States, and a breakdown in trade will slow the global recovery and create hostility and mistrust between major economies whose cooperation is necessary to resolving important global problems.
There is intense speculation that China's economic rise will radically transform the world’s capital markets and financial system, but such predictions are unlikely to come true in the foreseeable future.
Google’s public dispute with China is likely just the beginning of a challenging year for U.S.-China relations, as ongoing tensions over Taiwan arms sales, trade disputes, and UN sanctions will continue to hamper bilateral cooperation.
China's economic recovery is solidifying. Though risks—particularly in the real estate sector—are multiplying, they remain manageable, and an exit strategy is emerging.
Before China can move from being a great power to a superpower, it will have to overcome a number of economic, political, environmental, and regional challenges, from low per capita income and an aging and primarily rural population to the threat of ethnic secessionism.
A Chinese court has sentenced prominent political dissident Liu Xiaobo to 11 years in prison, highlighting the contradictions between China’s rising status and its continual fear of internal threats.
While China's role in global trade is continuing to grow, the dollar, not the yuan or the euro, will remain the world’s leading reserve currency for the foreseeable future.
Criticism of China’s pledge to reduce its carbon intensity by 45 percent by 2020 is ill-founded; it only serves to provide cover for U.S. opponents to climate change action, and risks blocking effective progress.
While the global recession has benefited China’s international standing, the rise of China should not be overestimated, as the country continues to face the challenges of economic rebalancing, nonperforming loans, and domestic instability.