The $120 billion question, which China will not answer

President Bush declared his meeting with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao during Wen's three-day visit to Washington this week a success. Maybe, but there's scant proof of that.
China is on track to rack up a $120 billion balance of trade advantage over the United States this year. That's not exactly a trading partnership when China sells each month $10 billion more of its goods in the United States than it buys .
And China steadfastly refuses to allow its currency to float, an action that would help to level the playing field by making U.S. goods cheaper in China and Chinese goods more expensive in the United States. Even as Wen was in Washington, a Bush administration trade official told members of Congress that there won't even be an investigation into allegations China manipulates its exchange rate.
That prompted Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, to warn that if the administration doesn't act, Congress may have to take action on its own, imposing import tariffs.
That would be a dramatic response, but if the administration is going to kowtow to China, congressional intervention may be necessary. At least Voinovich made it clear that some members of Congress are concerned.
Show respect; don't roll over
China obviously cannot be ignored or treated cavalierly. It is the sixth largest economy in the world and it is growing at a tremendous rate -- in large part thanks to its lopsided trade relationships. But neither should the United States defer to it at every turn.
Wen appears to have left Washington the winner. He gave only a vague commitment to address the trade imbalance. He didn't even commit to reschedule a meeting between trade negotiators to discuss an increase in U.S. exports of soybeans, cotton, fertilizer and telecommunications products that was canceled after Bush imposed a small tariff on a tiny segment of Chinese television and textile exports to the U.S.
He did express a desire to avoid a trade war. It should come as no surprise that nation selling $300 million more per day than it is buying doesn't want a trade war.
Stand tall on Taiwan
On the issue of Taiwan, Wen got better than he could have hoped for. President Bush, who not so long ago was voicing a U.S. commitment to democracy all over the globe, agreed with Wen that it would be provocative for the people of Taiwan to so much as vote on whether they think 500 Chinese missiles should be pointed at their tiny island.
Chinese authorities have responded to the proposed referendum with threats to use force. If Bush were going to say anything on the subject he should have supported a democratic island's right to voice through the ballot box its discomfit at being constantly in the crosshairs of its much larger, nondemocratic, militaristic neighbor.
At the very least, he could have said nothing. While the United States officially recognizes "one China," it is historically committed to defending Taiwan against an attack from the mainland. It does neither Taiwan nor the United States any good to dilute that commitment.
Bowing to autocrats only emboldens them, in matters of trade, diplomacy and war.