US candidates discuss China 'to get votes'

Is China an ally or an adversary of the United States? The question, raised at seminars and US congressional gatherings all the time, dominated the televised public debate among Democratic presidential candidates in Chicago on Tuesday.

At a time when context is more important than the issue, almost all the speakers made tough-sounding speeches on China.

Those who followed the public debates between George W. Bush and Bill Clinton eight years ago might have been shocked by the present US president's verbal attack against his predecessor for his "too soft" policy toward China.