CHINA The friend of your enemy is not necessarily your enemy. But China seems to think it is. Nicolas Sarkozy, France’s president, currently occupying the chair of the European Union, is due to meet the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan leader, in Poland on December 6. In retaliation, the Chinese government has pulled out of a summit meeting in Europe with just days to go. It is an unwise and ill-considered step.
As recent economic developments have shown, China is intimately connected to the rest of the world. Wednesday’s sharp cut in interest rates is a direct result of that interdependence. In the present climate, the Chinese authorities must make more effort to build and maintain their alliances.
