For the first time in 20 years, the relationship with China played almost no part in the American Presidential election of 2008. President Obama has forged a low-key, pragmatic relationship with Beijing, but has not seen much success in building a workable "G2" that so many have called for. China kept Obama's visit to Washington in late 2009 deliberately low-key, and has refused to co-operate on the value of its currency, pressuring North Korea and Iran, or acting on global warming. Recently Washington has angered Beijing over Obama's meeting with the Dalai Lama and selling arms to Taiwan. Suisheng Zhao, one of the world pre-eminent watchers of the Sino-American relationship, explored the thinking underpinning the current relationship, and the dynamics driving the evolution of the relationship.
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