US wakes up to the sleeping dragon

IF there was a defining moment when China showed itself to be a superpower in waiting, it may have come this week.

With all eyes on New York to see how the world's powers would react to the growing spread of nuclear weapons, Beijing came into its own both in word and deed.

First, Foreign Minister Qian Qichen rejected Washington's pleas for it to desist with the sale of two large nuclear reactors to Iran; later, the same official made a speech to the UN's conference on extending the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), indicating that China did not want to join America's camp and vote for an indefinite extension of the treaty.

A third chapter in the drama came from London, where a new study revealed what most Western powers already know and fear - that Beijing is developing the kind of nuclear missile stockpile which by 2010 will be able to strike at potential foes all over the globe.

There was a time not long ago when, obsessed with the Soviet threat, the US paid little attention to China's military capability, except in the context of the East Asian arena.

But this week's events, where China has dominated headlines on the nuclear issue, make it clear that Washington has reluctantly accepted that the sleeping dragon has awakened into a potential global threat.

The collapse of the USSR has given America's foreign policymakers some breathing space to look more closely at Chinese expansionism, and conclude that the best way to contain it is by friendly co-operation rather than threats and confrontation.