This year also marks the 50th anniversary of the opening of diplomatic relations between France and Communist China. Urged on by President Charles de Gaulle, in 1964, the French became the first Western nation to recognize the new government in Beijing, much to the disgust of the Americans. A long established diplomatic bond of trust exists between the two nations, albeit a bond that has been stretched on one or two occasions. 

The missed opportunity of not visiting Japan early enough should now be offset by the rhetoric of the joint statement. The converging geo-political interests of India and Japan in curbing the growing assertiveness of China in the Asia-Pacific is certainly one of the major factors binding the two nations together. 

Pushing back against criticism that its presence in Africa is mercenary, China has extended unprecedented generosity to the Western African countries in the grip of an Ebola epidemic. It is the first time that China has extended humanitarian aid to countries facing public health emergencies; state media characterized this as "fulfilling the duty of a big country" and "selfless".

Trade, facilitated by Beijing's deep public pockets, reciprocal visits by dignitaries, including Xi Jinping, and the estimated one million Chinese citizens who have made Africa home since 2001, soared to $200 billion last year, making China the continent's biggest trading partner. All of which has set off alarm bells in some Western quarters, with dark warnings about a new Scramble for Africa. Critics fret the United States - focused on the Middle East, the Asia-Pacific, the European Union and Russia - has made a strategic mistake.

Her guests include Chinese ambassador Cui Tiankai, who has called Bao Bao Washington’s other Chinese ambassador, acknowledging a longstanding practice of “panda diplomacy” where China would gift or loan pandas as a message of cute goodwill between two countries.

People want to know “what China wants”. And there are many suggested answers. China wants to control the global discourse about it. It wants to change the bad image of itself seen in much of the outside world – the Tank Man; blanket of smog; tainted baby milk; routine police torture; suppression of free speech, and so on.

This Fall, Houston area high school student, Karen Ortega, will embark on a yearlong study abroad program in China with AFS. For ten months Karen, who has never traveled outside of the U.S., will live leave behind everything she knows to live with a Chinese host family, study in a Chinese high school and gain an intimate understanding of Chinese culture.

There has been much debate recently on the possibility of a China-South Korea alliance. The “pro” arguments quite often begin by noting that China has been emerging rapidly in a multi-polar world, making a strategic competition or even stand-off between China and the United States more probable.