They used to say, "Only Nixon Could Go To China." In my young mind, it seemed like he was just doing it to unbalance the Russians. It worked out pretty well. We got Pandas and cheap sneakers, and the Russians remained unbalanced. George H Bush spent much of his career developing contacts in China before becoming vice president. Through the last quarter of the 20th century, The United States benefited from its relationship with the People's Republic of China.
One day, I woke up. China was bad, but Russia was our best friend. This guy that everybody I know in New York hated told me so, and he pronounced China weird.
I'm pretty sure things with Russia will work out. Based on their literature and art, we want these people around regardless of what their government is like. This with China will work out, too. I'm not going to begrudge them for their success. We've always benefited from a relationship with China, even during the proxy wars, and I'm sure that will continue.
Maybe the real issue is guys in Washington telling who to like and who to be afraid of, which causes their leaders to do the same.
