From the Washington Post (link):
IF THERE WAS ever a serious debate within the Bush administration about whether it is best to “engage” or “contain” China, it is now over: When President Hu Jintao visits Washington this week, the two presidents will meet for the fifth time in under a year. Though Mr. Hu will not get the state dinner or formal designation of state visitor that he wanted, he will get a 21-gun salute on the White House lawn, along with other high-protocol trappings. U.S.-China relations may not be formally described as a “strategic partnership,” as Beijing might like, but in practice the Bush administration already treats Mr. Hu’s regime as such an ally, inviting its collaboration in curbing the nuclear programs of North Korea and Iran and stabilizing the global economy — and relegating concerns about its increasing domestic repression to a back burner.
