The US has announced a new arms package for Taiwan and, as expected, Beijing has responded angrily. It has not only suspended military-to-military relations with Washington but also threatened punitive action against US companies that supply the weapons and issued a veiled threat that it would halt co-operation on the resolution of global issues.
A commentary in the China Daily said: 'From now on, the US shall not expect co-operation from China on a wide range of major regional and international issues. If you don't care about our interests, why should we care about yours?'
Such an attitude is extremely disturbing. While Beijing has some justification for saying that Washington is not abiding by earlier accords, there seems little reason to say that China will, from now on, refuse to co-operate on regional or global issues.
After all, what are the issues that the US is seeking China's co-operation on? They are to curb the proliferation of nuclear weapons in such places as North Korea and Iran, and countering the threat of terrorism, as well as dealing with the ongoing financial crisis and global warming.
Surely, these are not simply American issues, but Chinese ones, as well. China, after all, does not want to see North Korea transformed into a nuclear power. Nor does China want to see Iran armed with nuclear weapons.
Similarly, China is a potential victim of terrorism from radical Islam because of the Xinjiang issue. It can certainly benefit from the exchange of information with the US and other countries.