President Jiang Zemin leaves for Chicago today, in what is widely expected to be his last visit to the United States as head of state. He is scheduled to meet US President George W. Bush on Friday at the latter's ranch in Texas.
For President Jiang, the informal meeting at the ranch, an arrangement Mr Bush has previously accorded to Russian President Vladimir Putin and British Prime Minister Tony Blair, will provide the crowning touch to his 13-year rule of China and help boost his standing as a world leader.
Mr Jiang is expected to step down as head of the Chinese Communist Party at its 16th congress early next month and as president in March. But he is no lame duck. The fact that the date of the party congress has been deferred to allow him to meet Mr Bush as president suggests he is expected to wield considerable influence behind the scenes following the leadership transition.
Sino-US relations have been on a rollercoaster ride over the past two years. Mr Bush's initially hawkish stance towards China after assuming office in January 2001 went into overdrive a few months later when an American spy plane collided with a Chinese fighter jet off the South China coast.
While both sides exercised restraint in preventing the row from getting out of control, it was the anti-terrorism campaign following the terrorist attacks on September 11 last year that caused the two countries to realise they have to work together to fight a common enemy.
For Beijing, under-scoring its good relations with Washington with a summit between Mr Jiang and Mr Bush just two weeks before a group of new leaders take the helm at the party congress is significant. Smoother relations with the US, which anchor China's overall foreign policy, will allow them to focus on more pressing domestic issues such as soaring unemployment and economic restructuring.
