Thirty years ago, George W. Bush was a business student on vacation in Beijing. His father was the U.S. envoy there, forging ties to a nation still isolated from the West, and the younger Bush decided to see the city from behind the handlebars of a bicycle.
“I can remember how odd people thought I looked,” he told Asian journalists last week. “There wasn’t much exposure to the West, and all of a sudden, an American starts riding a bike amongst them and it, frankly, surprised some people.”
Today, Bush returns to a much different Beijing for his third formal visit as U.S. president ” this time landing in the bustling capital of a fast-rising power. But during a weeklong tour of Asia, Bush has demonstrated varied and sometimes confusing attitudes toward China that suggest his administration is grasping to confront the changes of recent years.
See also:
– “Bush right to show China a better way” from the News Sentinel.
– “A Cold War China Policy” New York Times editorial.
– “Mr Bush in China: panda hugger or dragon slayer?” from Radio Netherlands.
– “George W. Bush in China: ‘Hey Pot, It’s Kettle’” from Spiegel Online.
– “Many Issues on Agenda for President Bush in China” from VOA
– “Bush arrives in Beijing, to talk with Chinese leaders on wide range of issues” from Xinhua.
– More on this topic, via Google News.
