The bipartisan US-China Security Review Commission published a Congressional report in July that sparked spirited debate among academics, economists and politicians about how China's scientific and technological advances could adversely affect American national security, jobs and competitiveness.
Too bad they missed the point.
The commission failed to recognise a golden opportunity in a country that is rapidly transforming its image from brawny workshop to the world to brainy knowledge network. Simply engaging China is not enough. The US must propose marriage.
The grand promises of biotechnology, nanotechnology, and information technology can only be realised with co-operation in research and development among countries with a capable science and engineering workforce. China is such an emerging force.
Through its open policy, a stabilising legal system, and recent entry to the World Trade Organisation, China is showing itself to be a vibrant, worthy, and capable trade partner. One need only look at the nation's swift decoding of the rice genome, ground-breaking embryonic stem-cell research, and bio-engineering of a virus-resistant tobacco crop to embrace the rapid pace of the Chinese research and development system.
Whether the US sees this progress as a threat is the key to how China sees the US. Remaining diplomatically distant will only force China into an ideological corner.