Frictions along with friendship

Unlike his predecessor who aggressively pressured China shortly after taking office, United States President Barack Obama and his initially soft stance have led many Chinese people to hold high expectations of him. But it appears that Obama, the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, wants to fool or surprise us.

Obama has thrown more troops into Afghanistan, challenged China's core interests by selling arms to Taiwan and is planning to meet the Dalai Lama. Is inflexibility Obama's true face or did he resort to Chinese traditional wisdom in taking strong measures only after courteous ones?

The US economy, which was sinking under the Bush regime, has gained little momentum a year after Obama has come into power with his ambitious "change" slogan. His approval rating has dropped. The Democratic Party majority in the Senate suffered a loss of one seat and consequently, a loss in voting power, possibly threatening the approval of Obama's separate plans for medical and financial reform.