Think twice

China Criticizes Bush Ahead of Election by Joe McDonald

The strikingly pointed criticism from a government that Washington calls a key anti-terrorism ally was a departure from China's past refusal to comment on the U.S. presidential candidates.

It came in a commentary in a state newspaper by Vice Premier Qian Qichen, who criticized what he called the "Bush Doctrine" as a policy of pre-emptive military attack and a Cold War relic.

This is somewhat disturbing, because of what it says about the Communist government's primary concerns. It means that they care more about curbing American military power than taking advantage of trade with us. (Admittedly Bush isn't always a free trader, but he certainly sounds better than Kerry, who chose a rank protectionist as his running-mate.) So if Chen Shui-bian thinks that economics matters more to the Communists than military concerns (and Taiwanese independence), he'd better think twice.