Wednesday March 23, 2006

I'm Predicting:

Big news. Hot off the press.
The President of China, Hu Jintao, will visit the White House on April 20.

This is not an official state visit.
President Hu will visit Yale ... and Seattle ... and ... well, by the way ... he will also have an informal meeting with President Bush in the White House.

The US agenda for this little tete a tete is: terror, Iran and North Korea, and human rights.
On each of these issues China wields huge influence.

The Chinese agenda is one single issue: more export to the United States.
China is really only interested in expanding their trade, and that is a serious irritant to US manufactures and US politicians, including George W. Bush.
Last year the US trade deficit with China hit a new record at $202 billion.
The United States is a Chinese cash cow.

China is the only country that the United States still sees as a serious threat. China is impervious to US pressure.
Oh to be a fly on the wall at that meeting.