US-China ties strained by power shift

The following is an excerpt from an article on channelnewsasia.com which quotes finance professor Jeff Bergstrand about the shift of economic gravity toward Asia and away from the transatlantic.  To read the entire column, visit: US-China ties strained by power shift

Presidents Barack Obama and Hu Jintao will try to patch up frayed economic ties when they meet in Washington next week, but a far-reaching power shift hangs uneasily over the meeting.

When China's leader visits the White House Wednesday a spotlight will be shone on relations between the world's established -- and some say declining -- economic power, and an emerging rival.

The agenda will feature a plethora of trade irritants, from Beijing's pursuit of domestic-first procurement policies to its continued suppression of the yuan, a policy Washington says floods the US with cheap imports costing local jobs.

After some limited success in shifting China's stance in the last year, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Wednesday laid down Washington's offer to finally break the deadlock.

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