China’s leader-to-be visits the U.S. Posted by Scott Manning on May 01, 2002 | Comments (0)

Hu Jintao, tipped to become the next supreme leader of China, is traveling to the United States at a critical moment in China’s politics — during the final internal deliberations over succession before the Communist Party congress. With a host of difficult U.S.-China issues unresolved, Hu’s most likely approach will be a cautious one, with modest goals. Too much is at stake with the U.S. — the country most pivotal for China’s geopolitical and strategic destiny — to risk anything but a modest get-to-know you mission.

Ever since 1988, when he was named vice president, Hu has scrambled to make up for his most obvious deficiency in foreign diplomacy. He has traveled to Southeast Asia, Japan, Central America, the Middle East, Latin America and, late last year, to Russia and Europe.Full Story...