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China Summit

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Alex Brandon / AP Photo; Mark Wilson / Getty Images
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Chinese President Hu Jintao's visit comes at a delicate time in Sino-U.S. relations, when Beijing's image as an economic juggernaut is tarnished by, among other things, its record of human rights abuses, its predatory business behavior, and its companies' reputation for copyright violations. A hint at those issues came out Tuesday, the day of Hu's arrival, when Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was asked by TV interviewer John Ralston how people in Nevada (Reid's home state) could find more jobs. Reid mentioned he was going back to Washington to meet Hu, adding "He's a dictator. He can do a lot of things." Immediately Reid backtracked: "Maybe I shouldn't say dictator, but they have a different type of government." And here's the irony: Reid used the word "dictator" in a faintly admiring tone, alluding to the fact that the top-down Chinese form of government doesn't always require grassroots approval (or even knowledge) to get things done.

Alex Brandon / AP Photo; Mark Wilson / Getty Images
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Chinese President Hu Jintao hopes to evoke the optimism and promise of the triumphal January 1979 U.S. tour by strongman Deng Xiaoping, but Deng’s a hard act to follow. Not only are Sino-U.S. issues pricklier and more complex today, but Deng also charmed his hosts with his candor and charisma. At one gala dinner, Deng was seated near Hollywood actress Shirley MacLaine, who had visited China in the 1970s during a period of Maoist excesses. She gushed to Deng that a Chinese scientist had told her how grateful he was that Mao Zedong had banished him to the countryside to tend cabbages. The diminutive Deng fixed his eyes on MacLaine and told her bluntly: “He was lying.” Deng also pointed out that “The people who hosted you then are in jail now.” (Deng himself was purged and disgraced during that period.)

Bob Daugherty / AP Photo
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Chinese officials have good reason to fear the media glare during state visits. After all, a historic visit to Beijing by then-Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in May 1989 played an integral role in how pro-democracy protests mushroomed in Tiananmen Square. Instead of cracking down on hunger strikers in the square before Gorbachev’s visit, Chinese authorities tried to work around the unrest. This resulted in hugely awkward moments; Gorbachev found himself smuggled through side entrances to the Great Hall of the People to meet Chinese leaders, who tried to ignore the tumult just outside the doorway. Gorby himself was fascinated by reports from his aides and Russian media about the demonstrations—and by protest banners that welcomed him as “Gorbachev, the TRUE reformer!” His Chinese hosts were hugely embarrassed; Gorby’s cameo appearance in the Tiananmen drama was eclipsed by the blood-letting a month later, when PLA soldiers cracked down on protesters.

Boris Yurchenko / AP Photo
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In October 1997, Jiang Zemin became the first Chinese president to come to the U.S. in a dozen years. His speech at Harvard drew many Chinese and Tibetan protesters; journalists also asked him pointed questions about Chinese dissidents and democracy. He tried to make light of the hubbub of the demonstrations, which were still audible as he made his speech—“I heard some noises, like an insect around my ear,” he later smiled. Still, Jiang seemed delighted to establish a presidential hotline between Washington and Beijing, and he even spoke some words of passable English.

Boris Yurchenko / AP Photo
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Hu Jintao got his first taste of America in 2002, when he visited as China’s vice president. He seemed more relaxed in those days, and even cracked a public joke, which is considered a rare event today. (He also won over then-U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, who saw in Hu the new face of a modern China.) At one point Hu—who, like many Chinese leaders, maintains glossy jet-black hair—bantered with an American governor with graying locks who admired Hu’s youthful looks. “You’re 20 years older than me, but your hair is so black and mine is already going gray,” the American enthused, according to a former U.S. official present at the time. To which Hu smiled and offered “to share with you some of our advanced technology.”

Paul Sakuma / AP Photo
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In 2006, Hu Jintao’s visit to the U.S.—deemed an “official visit,” less prestigious than a “state visit”—was marred when a member of the Falun Gong mystical sect, which was banned and persecuted in China, managed to get White House press credentials. The Falun Gong protester disrupted Hu’s welcome and was hustled away unceremoniously. U.S. President George W. Bush later apologized to Hu for the ruckus, creating a new controversy over press freedoms.

Charles Dharapak / AP Photo
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During that same 2006 visit, Hu’s entourage was stunned when an interpreter provided by the U.S. side announced the Chinese national anthem as that of the “Republic of China,” which is the official name of Taiwan. The governments of Taipei and Beijing—that is, the “People’s Republic of China”—have been rivals ever since the Chinese communists defeated the Chinese nationalists in 1949 and the losers fled to Taiwan. Even today the issue of American arms sales to Taiwan remains one of the prickliest problems in Sino-U.S. relations.

Ted S. Warren / AP Photo
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On the eve of Hu’s 2011 visit, embarrassment intruded into matters of state. Specifically, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates traveled to Beijing to improve military-to-military dialogue and pave the way for a successful summit in D.C. Just hours before Gates was to meet President Hu, however, the People’s Liberation Army conducted an unprecedented test flight of its internally developed J-20 stealth fighter. Startled by the test, Gates asked Hu about it and later said the Chinese president reassured him the incident had nothing to do with Gates’ visit. Still, the U.S. Defense secretary also speculated that China’s “civilian leadership seemed surprised by the test.” Were China’s generals trying to send a message? If it was a message for Hu, little wonder he treads cautiously. If it was a message to the U.S., it certainly was rude.

Li Xueren / AP Photo