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The first round of a revamped U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue was held in Washington last week. President Obama added the State Department as co-chair with the Treasury for the biannual meetings, which started in 2006.

The broadened framework is to provide "distinct strategic and economic tracks," according to the administration. Unfortunately, the strategic implications of China's growing diplomatic influence and military capabilities were ignored. Instead, the president used the event to advance his most naive foreign policy plank -- the belief that the two powers share a common view about climate change.