U.S. Self-Censures on Chinese Abuses

Several years ago, while attending a conference on United States-China business relations, I heard a well-respected leader in the field finish his presentation and take questions from the audience. Perhaps the most interesting question was also the simplest: "What could happen in the United States that would shift our relationship with China?" With only the slightest of pauses, his answer was "a long and protracted recession in the US".

The exchange was certainly interesting that particular moment, when the idea of such an event seemed distant and easy to trivialize. Today, in the midst of precisely that situation, his comments are difficult to ignore.