The United States decision to grant a transit visa to Taiwan President Lee Teng-hui en route to his visit to Panama indicates that Washington is at pains to tread a delicate diplomatic path, in which no party need feel itself aggrieved.
Hawaii may be one of the 50 states, but it is not part of the continent of North America, and has a very distinct culture and history. Spending a night there on the strict understanding that it is simply a stopover and not a political event or a visit ought not to trouble Chinese sensitivities overmuch.
Last night's relatively mild reaction from Beijing suggests that it will not engage in sabre rattling if Mr Lee's brief transits are conducted in a low-key fashion. The Foreign Ministry warned against transiting being used as a 'pretext' for separatist activities, but refrained from any name-calling and stopped short of explicitly calling for the withdrawal of Mr Lee's visa.
The US will certainly not want to trigger the reaction caused by Mr Lee's last visit to New York in 1995. Although a private trip to his old university, it resulted in military exercises off the Taiwan Strait, with US warships in the offing. China is not likely to want a repeat performance either.
If President Lee keeps a low profile, and refrains from flag-waving, his drop-in at Hawaii should pass without causing any ripples in the Sino-US relationship. That seems to be the mood in Taipei, where the American decision has been welcomed, but the plan could still be the cause of friction unless it is carefully handled.
The timing is unfortunate. Mr Lee's stopover comes just before the party congress in Beijing, and President Jiang Zemin's hardline opponents could seize on it as an excuse to attack his leadership. But if all sides take things quietly, no damage will be done.