Chinese diplomats in Washington are on the offensive publicly and privately to counter recent reports to Congress warning of threats posed by China's economic growth and military modernisation.
Embassy press attache Xie Feng on Monday warned against 'interference' in Chinese affairs, while other envoys are working contacts to spread the word that China represents no threat to the US. They probably do not need to bother.
A range of sources on Capitol Hill believe the first annual report of the US-China Security Review Commission is likely to have little impact on US lawmakers grappling with a host of other issues from the war on terrorism to corporate crime.
The commission's report was preceded by a Pentagon document that warned of the threat posed to Taiwan and US forces in the Pacific by the mainland's military modernisation.
However, one week since the release of the 260-page commission report and it was already 'on the shelf' and was likely to stay there, said one veteran Republican lobbyist who closely follows the Sino-US relationship.
The lobbyist said he felt it would only be 'dusted off' if there was a sudden crisis in the relationship.
Both Democrat and Republican Senate sources said they were not expecting any attempts to push through any new laws from the report's recommendations.
