Peter Macdiarmid / Getty Images

Chinese Artist Ai Weiwei holds some seeds from his 'Sunflower Seeds' exhibit at The Tate Modern in London on Oct.11, 2010.

BEIJING – The reported detention of one of China's most high-profile artists and dissidents, Ai Weiwei, is fueling speculation that China's ongoing crackdown to prevent call for protests similar to the ones seen in the Middle East and North Africa is reaching a new, more aggressive, phase.

Ai's wife and artist Lu Qing told NBC News in a phone interview that more than 24 hours after police detained her husband at Beijing’s airport she has not received any official notification of his status or whereabouts.

“I am certainly concerned because there is no news about him,” she said.

Ai’s arrest comes in the midst of what has been China’s “most severe” crackdown in a decade over the last few weeks, according to Sophie Richardson, Asia advocacy director at Human Rights Watch.

At least 25 lawyers, activists and bloggers have been detained, arrested or have “disappeared” since mid-February, including six of China's most prominent human rights lawyers, according to Richardson. In addition, between 100 and 200 other people have been subjected to various forms of house arrest and control.

The latest development shows “a turning point in the crackdown because the arrest of someone of the stature of Ai could only have been carried out with approval of a top leader,” Human Rights Watch spokesman in Hong Kong Nicholas Bequelin told NBC News. He added that the message of the arrest is “clearly designed to intimidate.”

Ai, a 53-year-old artist and architectural designer is internationally renowned. He was a consultant on the iconic Bird’s Nest stadium at the Beijing Olympics and recently had an exhibit at the Tate Modern gallery in London. The son of one China’s most famous modern poets, he has also been a famously outspoken critic of the Communist government. 

Bequelin pointed to the increasing power of China's security apparatus since the 2008 Olympic Games, which he says has “seized on the pretext of the Jasmine revolution” to launch a comprehensive crackdown. “The silence of the West has directly contributed to the hardline turn; the reformers within the system are undermined by the lack of pressure,” he added.

In the meantime, people close to Ai are increasingly worried about his situation. His assistant Jennifer Ng recounted to NBC News the airport incident on Sunday when he was blocked from boarding a flight to Hong Kong. She described the police behavior as “civil” when they told her that Ai had “other business” and could not take the flight.

Ng Han Guan / AP

A Chinese police officer, right, and a security guard stand guard near Ai Weiwei's studio in Beijing on Sunday.

“We are just concerned about the situation of Ai Weiwei,” said another assistant, Liu Yanping, He confirmed that eight staff personnel from Ai’s Beijing studio who had been summoned by the police have since been released.

But Ai’s lawyer was not optimistic about when they would hear about his whereabouts.

“It may take up to 48 hours before any official notification is received about Ai Weiwei’s status,” said lawyer Liu Xiaoyuan, who has been rendering legal services to the artist since 2008.

Asked whether the reported detention and disappearance of human rights lawyers is cause for personal concern, he told NBC News that the “law is the law.”

“I am not concerned because the law allows for lawyers to be allowed to represent clients, be they murderers or political dissenters,” he said.

BEIJING – When the Philippines took the much-criticized decision to boycott the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony honoring a top Chinese dissident last December, the official rationale was that it was meant to help save the lives of Filipinos facing the death penalty in China over drug-trafficking crimes.

But nevertheless, China’s Supreme Court still ruled for the execution next week of three convicted Filipino drug couriers – setting off a high-stakes diplomatic game to see if Beijing will show mercy and return Manila’s political favor in kind.

“It is time for them to demonstrate their pronounced statements of improved or closer bilateral ties. This will be a test,” declared Philippine President Benigno Aquino III, who faces mounting domestic pressure over the controversy.

“No one is privileged to transcend the law,” declared the Chinese embassy in Manila, calling the death sentence “the final verdict by the Chinese judicial authorities.”

‘Scourge of drugs’
China maintains a draconian drug control policy, to fight what officials would describe as the “scourge that has wrought havoc to the Chinese nation in history,” alluding to the Opium Wars of the past.

China carried out the execution of a British national convicted of smuggling 4,000 grams of heroin in Dec. 2009, despite then British Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s own plea for clemency.

Under China’s law, trafficking more than 50 grams of heroin is punishable by death.

The three Filipino death-row inmates, two female and one male, were separately convicted of smuggling between 4,000 to more than 6,000 grams of heroin into China. They reportedly served as “mules” for international drug-smuggling syndicates.

“Drugs are a worldwide problem and we have to respect their (China’s) sovereignty,” Aquino told the Philippine media.
But he appealed for “reciprocity” and a stay of execution, citing that the Philippines has not executed Chinese nationals found guilty of similar offenses since the country has abolished capital punishment.

“We are not asking for exoneration,” added a Philippine foreign affairs official. Manila is hoping for a reprieve or commutation to life imprisonment.

Judicial vs. strategic interests?
Government officials in Manila do not disagree that drug offenses need to be severely punished, but they are looking at their plea for clemency through the lens of their strategic alliance with China.

“We do not question the decision of the Chinese courts in meting [out] the death penalty to the accused,” said Philippine Vice President Jejomar Binay, but he is still planning on traveling to Beijing Friday to plead Manila's case on humanitarian grounds.

“There is no legal remedy,” a Philippine senator acknowledged, adding that this should serve as a lesson to avoid involvement in the illegal drug trade.

But Aquino said he will continue “last-ditch” diplomatic efforts to avoid the death penalty, calling his request “very, very reasonable.” He added, “And we have improved bilateral ties with China. This will be a test.”

Last December, the Chinese government expressed “appreciation” for Manila’s Nobel Peace Prize boycott, which triggered “shock and disappointment” among human rights groups. 

As a further gesture in China’s favor, Manila recently extradited 14 Taiwanese accused of criminal fraud to Beijing, not to Taipei, infuriating the Taiwanese government and putting the interests of some 80,000 Filipinos working in Taiwan at risk.

Manila has “jumped the gun” on the issue of China-Taiwan unification, according to one commentator. 

Aquino has requested “a phone conversation” with Chinese President Hu Jintao, but so far no response.

It remains to be seen how the executions, if carried out, will impact public opinion and the ties between China and the neighboring strategic archipelago.

GRACE LIANG / Reuters

A child dressed in a traditional Chinese costume stands in front of lanterns at a temple fair to celebrate the Lunar New Year in Beijing Thursday.

BEIJING – As the Year of the Rabbit hops in, there could be new forces at work for Britain’s royal wedding.
 
For China’s top fortune teller, Chen Shuaifu, April 29 isn’t exactly an auspicious day for the gathering of the rabbit, the rooster and the dog. But if the “right steps” are taken, the royal wedding day could still be a good beginning for Kate Middleton and Prince William.
 
“Prince William should avoid wearing red, while Kate must wear white, gold and black,” said Chen.
 
While it’s tempting to dismiss the words of Chen, a soft-spoken former defense reporter and editor, he is the chairman of the China National Feng-shui Association, which has some 38,000 members across China.
 
Feng-shui, which stands for wind and water, is the ancient art that studies the forces and elements of nature to divine the future, attract good fortune and deter bad luck. It has survived in China for more than 1,000 years and has seen a revival in recent years.
 
“I am a descendant of Chen Tuan, the greatest feng-shui master of the Song Dynasty,” Chen said during a recent interview with NBC News, referring to a philosopher who lived in the 10th century.  
 
Reconciling the zodiacs
While both Kate and William were born in 1982 in the Western calendar, the Chinese lunar calendar says Kate was born in the Year of the Rooster, while Prince William was born in the Year of the Dog.
 
Their zodiacs are “quite compatible,” according to Chen. “But they will be married in the Year of the Rabbit, which is good for people born in the Year of the Dog, but bad for people in the Year of the Rooster,” he warned.
 
“Kate was born on a freezing winter day, so she must be an extreme and stubborn lady,” said Chen.

Zhu Tong / NBC News

Chen Shuaifu at work in Beijing.

“Prince William was born in the fiery month of June, so he also has an extreme temperament, with a quick reflex and is excellent in academic studies.”
 
“To reconcile their horoscopes, Prince Williams must not wear red clothes and should often go swimming, while Kate must wear white, gold and black,” he firmly suggested.
 
“And golden utensils must be used, because gold can contain the water (necessary for good feng-shui). Water was born from gold, and black also belongs to water,” he added. 
 
‘Soak the ring in wine’
Chinese feng-shui believes that human fate can be altered through proper actions. “If I predict that someone driving north will encounter a disaster, I will tell him to head south instead,” Chen explained.
 
One case in point is the royal engagement ring that belonged to Princess Diana. “She led a miserable life, the unlucky energy in the ring will be too much, and the living should not wear the ring worn by the dead,” he said.
 
“But there are two solutions,” Chen suggested. “One is to soak the ring in wine for six or seven hours, and another is to soak it in salt, to cleanse away the tragedies.”

Chen admitted that he could only provide limited guidance and that a deeper understanding of the forces that could affect the royal wedding and the married life of Prince William and Kate would require “a quiet environment” and “three or four hours” of work in their presence.
 
Besides, after the wedding, “70 percent” of the couple’s fate will be decided by Prince William, according to Chen. “As a prince, he will have important influence on world affairs. So I suggest he contribute a lot more to society and have a positive attitude, to repel bad luck and any threat to their marriage.”
 
Is Feng-shui credible?
Chen is aware of the skepticism held by many toward feng-shui. “I can only say one sentence: Everything will depend on human efforts and a positive attitude can change everything.”
 
He pointed out that more and more people are seeking out the counsel of feng-shui masters, including government and corporate officials. He ticked off a few examples of his own.

“I have been invited by Foxconn to help deal with the frequency of workers’ suicide deaths in their factories in south China ... I determined the wedding day for famous actor Tang Zhenye for his seventh marriage … And later, he had twin daughters.”

He also suggested that feng-shui is at work all the time, in ways many might miss.
 
“In Beijing, there is the Bird’s Nest in the Olympic park, the Bird’s Egg for the National Grand Theater, the Bird’s Beak of the Millennium Altar, the Bird’s Legs of the new CCTV Tower, and the Bird’s Wings of the Beijing Capital Airport,” he said, suggesting a grand feng-shui design of a bird to attract good fortune.

The bird can fly and is an apt symbol for rising Beijing, rising China, he explained.

"Who designed it all? I can't tell you, it's state secret," he said.

Zhu Tong contributed to this report.   

For all the latest on the royal wedding, click on the Windsor Knot, msnbc.com's blog dedicated to the countdown to the big day.

KEVIN LAMARQUE / Reuters

Frenemies? Chinese and U.S. flags fly along Pennsylvania Avenue outside the White House on Tuesday ahead of Chinese President Hu Jintao's state visit.

By Eric Baculinao, NBC News Beijing Bureau Chief 

BEIJING – As Chinese President Hu Jintao embarks on his landmark state visit to the United States, there is a lot of chatter on the Internet and among academics in China about the superpowers’ meeting.

The range of opinions in China reflects the wide variety of issues that have complicated bilateral relations of late: from Taiwan, Tibet and human rights to currency, trade and military rivalry in the Asia-Pacific region.

But while the official message from Beijing is that the state visit presents a good opportunity for the two countries to meet and readjust relations, one noted scholar has bluntly called for an end to the “superficial friendship” between the two countries.

High demands
Gauging public opinion in China is never a simple task. A cursory search for “Hu Jintao’s visit to the U.S.” is stopped by the Great Firewall and met with a message that “your search is blocked in accordance with relevant laws.” 

But a more creative and neutral search for “Big Boss Hu’s visit” or “President’s visit to the U.S.” gives a clue to Chinese opinions about the state visit. Many expressed concerns over economic issues.

“Let’s see how many business orders Big Boss Hu will bring to the U.S. this time,” wrote one commentator.

“The visit will be successful if the U.S. halts arms sale to Taiwan, stops pressuring China on currency issues, and lifts the ban on high-tech exports to China,” said another. “It will be a failure if only a $20 billion business deal is signed.”

Another expressed outrage over the currency issue. “The dollar-renminbi exchange rate is approaching the 6.5 level!...This shows how the ******* party is really good at fawning over the U.S.”

Key word: cooperation
Nevertheless, the official theme from Beijing seems to be acknowledging “differences” between the two countries, but emphasizing “cooperation.” Hu even weighed in himself to try to set a positive tone for his visit.

In written answers to questions from the Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal, Hu called for an end to the anachronistic “zero-sum Cold War mentality” in China-U.S. relations and proposed increased cooperation.

“The visit’s timing is very good after Sino-American relations experienced a year of wind and rain,” Prof. Song Guoyou of the Center for American Studies told the Dazhong-Qilu Evening News. “It’s time to adjust.” 

Fudan University professor Wu Xinbo also told the state-run Global Times newspaper that Hu’s visit “should make clear that the basic tone of Sino-U.S. relations is cooperation rather than competition or confrontation.” 

However, Beijing Institute of Technology professor Hu Xingdou, a prolific blogger on economic and political issues, was a little more skeptical of how much relations can improve.

“China-U.S. relations can never be too good or too bad,” said Hu. “They need each other but they can’t become true friends because of fundamental differences in their political and values systems,” he said. “The visit will only have short-term influence.”

Danger of ‘pretending to be friends’
But the most provocative view from China was aired by Prof. Yan Xuetong, the highly-respected director of the Institute of International Relations at Beijing’s prestigious Tsinghua University.

“The visit is very important because the relationship is declining and the visit should aim to stabilize the relationship,” he told NBC News.

Still Yan, an author and expert on international security issues, argues that the policy of China and the U.S. “pretending to be friends” is destabilizing and dangerous and can only lead to miscalculations and conflict.

“Certain people might argue that the mutual delusion of friendship serves the interests of both China and the United States, but this argument lacks hard evidence and logical support,” Yan said.

“Being superficial enemies would be a better choice for China and the United States to stabilize and improve their relations if they have no way to become real friends,” Yan wrote in the Chinese Journal of International Politics late last year. “If we look in detail at the strategic interests of China and the United States, we find more confrontational and conflicting interests than common and complementary ones.”  

“To enlarge mutually favorable interests, China and the United States should give up the policy of pretending to be friends. A policy of clarity serves their interests better than one that is ambiguous,” he argued.

No one hopes that China and the U.S. become real enemies, he said, but if they cannot become real friends, then “superficial enmity” is more stabilizing than “superficial friendship.”

“Inconsistency between knowledge and the reality is a main destabilizing factor in bilateral relations,” he warned.

NBC News researcher He Xin contributed to this report.

By Eric Baculinao, NBC News Beijing Bureau Chief

BEIJING – Defying Western criticism and sanctions, Myanmar’s military junta proceeded with Sunday’s controversial elections that once again drew attention to the clashing strategies of the United States and China towards the poor, but strategically important, Southeast Asian nation.

(Note: The ruling junta changed the country’s name to Myanmar in 1989. While the United Nations has adopted the new name, some journalists and countries, such as the United States, continue to use its old one Burma.)

With President Barack Obama virtually within hearing distance in India, Myanmar’s generals effectively delivered the message that America’s lack of engagement, focus on human rights and consequent inability to influence events in the country may only draw the country deeper into the strategic embrace of its giant neighbor.

“Some analysts noted that a peaceful power reshuffle is in China’s interests,” said Guo Qiang of the Global Times, a Chinese Communist Party-run newspaper.

The elections, which China has supported, are seen as critical to institutionalizing and stabilizing military-led rule in Myanmar, and securing China’s strategic gains in the county.

And of these strategic gains, none is more powerful a symbol of China’s growing dominance as the mammoth $2.5 billion Trans-Myanmar oil and gas pipelines project, which has far-reaching economic, military and geo-political consequences.

‘Neither free nor fair’
Obama decried the Nov. 7 elections as “based on a fundamentally flawed process” that was “anything but free and fair.” In addition, overwhelming evidence pointed to the regime’s intention of silencing and sidelining the pro-democracy opposition forces, with their leader Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi still under house arrest.

But the election was “a step forward,” according to the China’s Global Times, which warned against “following the West blindly” in opposing Myanmar’s step-by-step process of political change. 

Earlier, a Chinese government spokesman stressed hopes for Myanmar’s “domestic stability” and “continued progress in democracy” with smooth elections.

Before the elections, the U.S. supported plans for an international probe into possible war crimes by Myanmar’s military rulers arising from their human rights records, deemed to be among the worst in the world, but two months of China high-level lobbying at the United Nations effectively killed the initiative.

(Amnesty International says that the country’s 50 million “live in poverty and suffer ongoing human rights violations.” Click here for more on the human rights situation in the country according to Amnesty International).

Indeed, China sees its interests served internationally by promoting friendly relations with its neighbors, regardless of these neighbors’ domestic policies.  

“It is in China’s own interests to maintain good relations, regardless of who is in control of the country,” said current affairs commentator Victor Zhikai Gao.

Trans-Myanmar lifeline
For many critics, China’s own interests are best exemplified by its breakthrough agreement with Myanmar’s junta – the construction of the oil and gas pipelines that will provide strategic shortcut from the shores of the Bay of Bengal to the strategic rear area of China’s landlocked Southwest.

Planners expect the project, which will cut through the heart of Myanmar, to be operational in 2013 and guarantee Myanmar’s rulers nearly $30 billion for 30 years from the sale of natural gas alone.
 
With a designed capacity for 22 million tons of oil and 12 billion cubic meters of gas annually, the project will at last help deal with the so-called Malacca Dilemma, which has engrossed China’s strategic planners since President Hu Jintao raised the issue in late-2003.

The 550-mile long Malacca Strait connecting the Indian and Pacific oceans, is one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes and is crucial for China’s trade and security. Between 70 and 80 percent of China’s oil imports from the Middle East and Africa must pass through this congested lane that can easily be blockaded in the event of conflict. Recent disputes with the United States over the South China Sea issues, has certainly added to China’s sense of vulnerability.
 
In two years’ time, China’s oil tankers from the Middle East and Africa will be able to unload their cargo at Myanmar’s deep sea ports along its western coast.  From there, the fuel will be delivered to refineries in Southwest China, avoiding the Malacca Strait and saving nearly 2,000 sea miles and one week of transport time.

And down the road, critics warn that Myanmar’s coastlines could provide China with naval access in the proximity of strategic water passages that connect with the Pacific and Indian oceans. 

“The pipeline in Myanmar will be a plausible reason for China to send its advanced submarines…or consider protecting its interests in Myanmar under nuclear umbrella,” warned Mizzima news agency, a Burmese opposition group based in India.
 
Myanmar as ‘province of China’?
Critics of the projects say they will serve China and Myanmar’s elite well, but do little for average Burmese citizens.

China’s projects “will not bring any benefits to the local communities,” argued Wong Aung, international coordinator for the Shwe Gas Movement opposition group. The military regime will only continue to “systematically abuse its people” and “use the earnings to keep themselves further entrenched in power,” he told NBC News.

He also warned of potential environmental problems, citing an investigative report accusing the Swiss-American firm Transocean of subcontracting for drilling work in an offshore field in Myanmar – in possible violation of American sanctions. Transocean operated the Deepwater Horizon rig in the center of the BP Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster.

Transocean denied the charges.

“No Transocean affiliate that is subject to the U.S. ban has ever done business in Myanmar,” Managing Director Lou Colasuonno told NBC News.

 “Safety is a core value of Transocean,” he further said, noting that there had been seven consecutive years without a single lost time incident or environmental event before the Gulf oil spill in April.
 
But probably the most vocal critic of the state of affairs in Myanmar comes from the United States itself.
 
Sen. Jim Webb, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations East Asia subcommitee, called on the Obama administration to pursue a more active engagement policy towards Myanmar’s military junta.

“We are in a situation where if we do not push some sort of constructive engagement, Myanmar is going to basically become a province of China,” Webb told a group of defense reporters in Washington last week.

By Eric Baculinao, NBC News Beijing Bureau Chief

 BEIJING – It seems like a perfect diplomatic dichotomy.

Philippe Wojazer / Reuters

France's President Nicolas Sarkozy welcomes China's President Hu Jintao as he arrives at the Elysee Palace in Paris on Thursday for the start of a three-day visit in France.

While President Barack Obama is setting off to Asia to expand America’s partnerships and alliances, China’s President Hu Jintao is on his own journey to expand China’s financial and business clout in Europe.
 
The simultaneous maneuvers come amid a crescendo of warnings in China’s state-controlled media that America is executing a new “containment” policy that seeks to use diplomatic, economic and military tools to curb China’s development, notwithstanding official denials from the United States.
 
“The U.S. wants to contain China through making use of the contradictions between China and some Asia countries and interfering in Asian affairs,” warned a recent commentary in the 21st Century Business Herald.

In light of the divergent trips and a surge in diplomatic spates over everything from currency valuation to rare earth minerals, China analysts weighed in on what may lie ahead for the rivalry between the world’s two economic superpowers.

China on lookout for more friends
While Obama will visit India, Indonesia, South Korea and Japan – but not China – and attend two international summits, Hu is visiting France and Portugal at a difficult juncture for those Eurozone countries.

On Thursday, Hu inked billions of dollars worth of business deals during his state visit to France and was greeted with full military honors by President Nicolas Sarkozy. The deals included $14 billion for Airbus planes, which could seriously erode Boeing’s lead in the China market, as well as telecom and nuclear investments. 

Hu heads to Portugal Saturday where he will reportedly offer to buy government bonds that will be “conducive” to economic recovery and growth, according to one Chinese official. Portugal is faced with the danger of a Greek-style debt crisis.
 
For China to court Europe is a natural thing, according to Francois Godement, senior policy fellow of the European Council of Foreign Relations.  “It’s China’s first market and it also needs to hedge some of its resources, too much is invested in dollars,” he told NBC News.
 
By investing in European public debt, which commands higher interest rate, China is “indirectly helping to maintain the unity of the Eurozone,” Godement added. “In the process, China will also represent to these countries – Greece, Spain, Italy and perhaps Portugal – that its support is also political, and requires some payback.”

“It’s time to help the Europeans, especially because the Eurozone is going through some difficulties,” said Victor Zhikai Gao, director of the China Association of International Studies and former interpreter for the late leader Deng Xiaoping, who led China in opening up to a market-based economy.
 
“China certainly wants to be friends with Europe,” Gao said in a telephone interview from London. “China is always concerned about not having as many friends as possible in this world.” 
 
Nurturing U.S.-China ties
China also wants to be friends with the U.S., according to Gao, but the relations will need “nurturing, care and incentives.”

“China’s economy will likely quadruple again in the coming two decades, meaning it will overtake and become bigger than the U.S.” Gao predicted. “How the U.S. comes to terms with the prospect of China growing and overtaking the U.S. is a major issue.” He noted that since World War II there has never been as much of a possibility that another country could overtake the U.S. as the world’s superpower as now.

Gao argued that China’s ascendancy could be a boon for the U.S., if they work together.

“If the U.S. and China can view each other as friends and partners, then there will be no insurmountable difficulties in this world,” he said, citing the global issues of terrorism, extremism, fundamentalism, nuclear  proliferation and anti-Americanism as requiring China-U.S. cooperation.
 
“But if the U.S. views China with suspicion and tries to ‘contain’ China, then not only will ‘containment’ not succeed but the real enemies of the U.S. will congratulate themselves,” he argued.

When asked about how China views U.S. involvement in the region, Gao said that China has never denied that the U.S. has legitimate interests in that part of the world.
 
“What China objects to is the projection of U.S. forces to interfere in China’s internal affairs, like on Taiwan,” he explained.
 
“It is true that China has territorial disputes with Southeast Asia countries – Vietnam, Japan, India – but it is much better to let the countries involved sort things out,” he suggested. “If the U.S. sides with some countries, the U.S. creates disincentives for improved relations between the U.S. and China.”

“The better strategy is to incentivize China and leverage China’s potential,” he added.
 
‘Pessimistic on balance’
For Richard Betts, director of the Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies at Columbia University in New York, the issue of “containment” is a strategic choice.
 
“If other powers like the USA want to keep China from developing a stronger strategic role in East Asia as it becomes wealthier, that will amount to ‘containment,’” he said.
 
Asked about the prospects of a U.S.-China confrontation, Betts conceded he was “pessimistic on balance …  An optimistic outcome is quite possible, but it will not be the natural default option.”
 
“To avoid confrontation, one of three possibilities will have to” play out, he added: “ China’s rise falters and the country suffers a reversal of fortunes and does not rise to superpower status; China rises but gives up the normal ambitions of a great power to control events that affect its interests; or other countries, especially the USA, Japan, Russia and India, concede China’s dominance in East Asia and do not contest its preferences for resolving the status of Taiwan or the Spratly and Diaoyu/Senkaku islands.”
 
“Any of these options is possible, but none seems likely at the moment,” he said.
 
“The West cannot have its cake and eat it too, meaning have amicable relations with China but simultaneously keep China in a subordinate position in the balance of power and block China from resolving disputes in its favor,” Betts added.

Time will tell how the various diplomatic dances play out.