Skimming the news this morning I found a piece in the IHT on the Chinese response to a DoD report on their current millitary buildup. The report itself is here, and the PLA response here. It's all peaceful, apparently, and China has no desire to take over Taiwan by force. Modernize your military enough, of course, and force will not be required, but maybe I've been reading too much Tom Clancy on summer holidays. Bush is quoted as saying that the US and China have "a complicated relationship", with "areas of concern where it comes to values". Good speechwriting: it's a lover's quarrel, in other words. Kind of like walking in on a couple screaming and throwing knives at each other, asking how things are, and hearing two cheery voices answer, "Just fine, thanks!"

I don't see China as a third world country anymore, if I ever did. It's big, with a lot of rural poor, and their currency is kept cheap to support exports, but I really do see them as first class players on the world stage, with a responsibility every bit as big as Europe and the US with respect to things like international security and the environment. Not long ago I heard someone talking about adopting a girl from China, and among the reasons offered was to give her a better life. Inside my head, I was taken aback. Me, if I was twenty, I'd think about going the other direction, as Henry Blodget suggested. China is a real place, with economic opportunities every bit as big, if not larger, than Silicon Valley or Bangalore, and environmental responsibilities to match. More on that later.