The Bush administration came away from its whirlwind 40-hour stay breezing through Beijing with a $4 billion dollar contract for Boeing aircraft and agreements to work more closely on bird flu and the Megaport container security initiative. The president found time to pray and play on Sunday as well as to meet with China's president and premier.

Despite Bush and Hu Jintao both trumpeting "warm and growing" ties between the United States and China, the rhetoric and reality of bilateral relations run roughly parallel on some issues, but problems persist in many areas. The Chinese strategy is to minimize direct conflicts with the United States in the short term for a long-term stable environment and subtle rise to become the world's predominant power.

The two leaders met for the fifth and probably the last time in 2005 on Sunday. The outcome of the China visit was set by the U.S. president during the first leg of his Asia tour in Kyoto, Japan, a week ago. The president's Nov. 14 comments on freedom and human rights in China, as well as praise for democracy in Taiwan, were direct challenges to the mainland.

The Chinese responded to the criticisms in a typically indirect manner. They are well aware of their position in the U.S. president's priorities. "Generally speaking, the United States puts allies first," according to Niu Jun, a professor of international relations from Peking University who was quoted in the People's Daily on Nov. 17.

Niu noted the first three stops on Bush's current itinerary -- Japan, South Korea then China -- mirrored his last state visits to East Asia in 2002.

The week before starting his Asia tour, the president invited the Dalai Lama to the White House, a hot-button event that usually draws an immediate vociferous protest by the Chinese government as "interfering in internal affairs." Chinese reaction was muted and the president's visit was not delayed.

Smoothing the way for the Bush visit, China also accepted a textile agreement that will stave off an immediate flood of Chinese imports with U.S. safeguards in place until 2008. The country's minister of commerce, Bo Xilai, grumbled that while quotas will increase, "the U.S. could have done more."

The day before the president's arrival the Party's flagship newspaper offered a "three wave" analysis of Sino-U.S. relations over the last 30 years. The first wave was rapprochement under Nixon. The second was a failed "Strategic Partnership" during the Clinton administration. The Chinese characterize the third and current wave as "Post-Sept. 11."

The Chinese see the third wave as one of increased political and economic interdependency between the two countries based on the trend of greater globalization. The article said the spate of high level official visits by U.S. leaders over the last two months had crystallized this notion.

"Therefore, we have good reason to believe that this new wave of China-U.S. ties is bound to be heading for a long-term, positive direction, and is sure to push the relations to a new high" according to the People's Daily.

The agendas of both presidents as world leaders are vastly different: Bush governs by ideology, trying to implement a vision of global freedom, while his counterpart Hu is trying to focus on a vast array of daunting domestic challenges within the Chinese universe.

There are also differences in the style of diplomacy conducted by the two heads of state. Bush prefers important interlocutors visit Crawford, Texas, and spend time at the ranch to take measure of their worth as counterparts rather than operate within the formal trappings of the White House. The American president likes building "guanxi," the Chinese term for "personal connections."

This is the opposite of his Chinese counterpart. Hu rose up through the ranks of the Communist Party system and avoided pitfalls on his way to the top of the hierarchy through a mixture of authoritarian selection and institutional building mechanisms that have evolved during the economic reform era trying to do away with the abuses of power guanxi has spawned.

Hu is a technocrat in an authoritarian system; as a party apparatchik he believes in the form and function of institutions symbolizing each of the three key positions (general secretary of the Communist Party, president of state and military chairman) he holds. These reinforce his status as first among equals in the collective of Chinese politics.

State-run media said the Chinese president offered Bush a five-point proposal to guide bilateral relations. First was to maintain close communication and consultation on important issues by various means. Second was joint effort to create favorable conditions for further trade and economic cooperation. Third was coordinating energy strategies to minimize competition and potential conflict. The fourth was cooperation in the fight against terrorism, non-proliferation, plus the prevention and control of bird flu. Fifth was increasing cultural exchanges and exploring ways to establish a mechanism for dialogue and consultation on China-US cultural cooperation.

China's leaders did not let President Bush's comments in Kyoto pass without response. "Given their different histories, cultures and national conditions, it is inevitable that China and the United States may have some different opinions on some issues," Hu noted.

He added the two sides "ought to follow a spirit of mutual respect and seeking common ground while reserving their differences, and act on the basis of the basic norms governing international relations, and handle and advance their differences properly through dialogue."

These sentiments were echoed in statements made after the president met with Premier Wen Jiabao, responsible for the day to day operation of China's government. "We should respect each other and keep consultations on an equal footing," Wen stated.

"To ensure a healthy development of bilateral relations, China and the United States should increase consensus, properly handle disputes, minimize controversies and avoid confrontation by taking a strategic and long-term vision," Wen added, with Xinhua quoting him as stressing "the key lies in the leadership."

The Bush administration deserves high marks for pursuing a broad-based relationship with China. However, its understanding of this country, as friend and rival, has room for improvement.

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