Is China a rival or a partner of the United States? President Bush said not long ago that the US-China relations are "very complicated", and China is both a rival and a partner. Then, when China is a rival and when a partner? The president didn't mention, and it is indeed hard to say.

This may be the case described by the Asian Wall Street Journal: engagement with China is kind of delicate dance. However, room for Washington to perform such a delicate dance is increasingly compressed when the acquisition plan of China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC) against Unocal Corp. becomes a political topic in the US. Unocal, which ranks the ninth among US oil companies, has become an object of acquisition due to ill operation. This is not news; what hits headlines is the fact that the name of CNOOC, China's third-largest oil and gas producer, appeared in the bidder list. "Oil plus China", that's the point worth playing up. It is nothing but the strategic nature of oil and the participation from an ever stronger country that turned the deal into a large piece of political news.

The news has generated in the US worries and requests for investigations in accordance with law. This is understandable in light of the strong strategic flavor of oil. But what worth vigilance is that some people took this opportunity to fan up anti-China sentiment by describing this normal business act as "a warfare of energy". They talked sensationally that the deal will "help China to monopolize oil supply and threaten US security by destroying US energy sources and economy". What's more, the House of Representatives revised a bill on June 29, prohibiting the US Export-Import Bank from providing China loans for construction of nuclear power plants. The revision, as analyzed by US media, is out of fear for helping China acquire sensitive technologies, for with which it will pose threat to US security.

CNOOC's bid for Unocal, though a new question it looks, only reveals again an old dilemma: how should the US deal with a rising China? Six years ago, when CNOOC just began to take shape, some US scholars explained their country's China policy by saying that the United States hope to see a China neither too strong nor too weak. By now, CNOOC has grown into a large enterprise, which, with a market value over US$22 billion, is marching ambitiously towards the world. China's rapid advancement has increasingly blurred the line between being "weak" and "strong", and things like CNOOC's acquisition bid will happen sooner or later considering the irresistible development momentum in the country. As Mr. David M. Lampton, senior expert on China, put it: when China enters global markets, her competitive edge will press the US and other countries to reflect their own basic systems. This requires change, while change is painful.

China's development needs more energy; this is not a secret. The US also gets its share of benefit from China's development; neither is this a secret. If the US wants China to buy more US-made automobiles and aircraft, then it must let China have more fuel. Washington can certainly regard China as an enemy or a potential enemy and make troubles by preventing China from gaining more energy, technology and fund. But what will be the result? Some US scholars had given the answer long before: when you take China as an enemy, you will create a China that will become an enemy. Ultimately, the US will be unable to benefit from China's rise.

CNOOC's acquisition bid and other similar deals revealed deep contradictions in US policy towards China. The US would fall into a dilemma either it clings to the old line of "containment plus engagement", or seeks maximum benefits while actively keeping vigilance. The Asian Wall Street Journal says the deal will test US courage in two aspects: free trade and the diplomatic strategy to give China its share in the global economy. What is tested, more importantly, is the overall US policy towards China.

So, whether CNOOC's plan will be accepted by Unocal shareholders seems not that important. What is important is the fact that this fast developing country keeps pressing towards the bottom line of Washington's China policy. The test has begun.

This article by Ding Gang is carried on the third page of the Global Times, July 1, and is translated by People's Daily Online