Publication

The development of relations with China is among Barack Obama's major foreign policy goals. Its pursuit was to be eased by setting aside sensitive issues, but early this year contentious issues resurfaced, including Internet censorship and freedom of expression in China, US arms sales to Taiwan, meetings by American politicians with the Dalai Lama, and also differences on the Iranian nuclear program and on exchange rate policy. This change in US policy towards China will not only adversely affect bilateral relations, but also render more difficult the two countries' cooperation in global affairs.