Associate Professor of Radiology Yudong Zhu and two researchers, Xin Lang and Ye Li, allegedly shared research funded by a $4 million grant from the National Institute of Health with a Chinese company called United Imaging Healthcare and a Chinese government-sponsored research insititute, the Shenzen Institute of Advanced Technology. NIH research is sponsored by the U.S. government.

When he was confronted by university officials earlier this month, Zhu apparently told them he joined a United Imaging research team in 2011 and a co-lead investigator for a grant from a Chinese government agency to develop MRI technology innovations. Prosecutors allege he traveled to China at least six times to assist with research.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Zachary Feingold reportedly said that after he was arrested, Zhu told federal agents that he had been paid $400,000 by United Imaging.

The trio are charged with commercial bribery conspiracy and could serve up to five years in prison. Zhu is facing additional charges for falsifying records because he allegedly neglected to disclose a related patent he had when applying for the NIH grant.

Follow Danielle Tcholakian on Twitter @danielleiat

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A strain of bird flu that has been found in humans for the first time in eastern China is no cause for panic, the World Health Organization said Monday, as the number of people infected rose to 24, with seven deaths.

WHO praised China for mobilising resources nationwide to combat the H7N9 flu strain by culling tens of thousands of birds and monitoring hundreds of people close to those infected.

On Sunday the head of China’s National Health and Family Planning Commission, Li Bin, said she was confident authorities could contain the virus. [ID:nL3N0CU0AF]

“These are a relatively small number of serious cases with personal health, medical implications, but not at this stage known public health implications,” O’Leary told reporters.

But he warned that information on the virus was still incomplete.

“We really can’t rely on information from other viruses. H7N9 is a new virus in humans and the pattern that it follows cannot be predicted by the patterns that we have from other influenza viruses,” O’Leary said.

No cases have yet been reported outside of China, he said.

The Shanghai government said on its official microblog Monday that a 64-year-old man had become the latest victim as the number of infected has risen daily.

In total, 621 close contacts of the people known to have been infected were being monitored and had yet to show symptoms of infection, according to the director of China’s H7N9 prevention and control office, Liang Wannian.

Authorities have said there is no evidence of transmission between humans.

The bird flu outbreak has caused global concern and some Chinese internet users and newspapers have questioned why it took so long for the government to announce the new cases, especially as two of the victims fell ill in February.

Airline shares have fallen in Europe and Hong Kong over fears that the new virus could be lead to an epidemic like Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which emerged in China in 2002 and killed about 10 percent of the 8,000 people it infected worldwide.

Chinese authorities initially tried to cover up the SARS outbreak.

In the H7N9 case, it had said it needed time to identify the virus, with cases spread between eastern Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Anhui provinces.

Chinese authorities have countered speculation that the H7N9 outbreak is related to more than 16,000 pig carcasses found dumped in rivers around Shanghai and the WHO has said some dead pigs from the rivers tested negative for influenza infection.

Other strains of bird flu, such as H5N1, have been circulating for many years and can be transmitted from bird to bird and bird to human, but not generally from human to human.

Bangladesh on Monday reported its first H5N1 death, that of a baby, in February. It had taken that long to identify the strain.

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With its rare apology, Apple went from pariah to praiseworthy in the eyes of China’s state-controlled media, a lesson for other foreign firms not to underestimate the speed and power of the government press.

After coming under near-daily media assault for the past two weeks and facing the threat of penalties from two Chinese government bureaus, Apple apologized to Chinese consumers on Monday for poor communication over its warranty policy and said it will change the terms for some of its iPhones sold in China.

Greater China is Apple’s second-biggest and fastest-growing market, with sales up almost 40 percent to $6.8 billion in the final quarter of 2012.

The Chinese newspapers that threw brickbats at Apple a few days ago have since changed their tune.

“The company’s apology letter has eased the situation, softening the tense relationship between Apple and the Chinese market … Its reaction is worth respect compared with other American companies,” wrote popular tabloid the Global Times, published by Communist Party mouthpiece the People’s Daily.

The Foreign Ministry praised Apple for “conscientiously” responding to consumers’ demands.

“We approve of what Apple said,” spokesman Hong Lei told a daily news briefing this morning.

Only last week, the People’s Daily issued a scathing editorial on Apple’s return policy saying the popular smartphone maker was filled with “unparalleled arrogance”.

Apple was first targeted in mid-March by state broadcaster CCTV during its annual consumer day segment. Volkswagen AG, which was also criticized on the same show, plans to recall vehicles to fix a gearbox problem.

“That Timothy Cook had to step up and respond from the CEO’s chair shows the importance of China and how critical it is as a market not just for Apple but for every multinational company here,” said Kent Kedl, Shanghai-based head of Greater China and North Asia for risk consultancy firm Control Risks.

Foreign companies who are adept at managing media crises at home find it much tougher to navigate China where state media outlets, pandering to different audiences, often have opaque agendas and intentions. Analysts also said that foreign companies need to remember that the bigger the brand, the bigger a target it will be, especially in China.

“What foreign companies need to pay attention to, is that nobody operates in a vacuum, nobody operates only on the good graces of a brand name … Five to ten years ago a report on CCTV would have rippled a little bit, now it goes viral and has a life of its own,” Kedl said.

Apple’s acquiescence in this setting, where the world’s largest technology company by market value was ironically the David going up against China’s Goliath state media machinations, shows its wisdom in not challenging a more powerful enemy.

Although popular opinion on the Internet swayed in Apple’s favor, against state media and the reported threats of penalties from China’s State Administration for Industry and Commerce as well as its quality and inspection bureau, it was not Apple’s fight to win, experts said.

Other foreign companies targeted by CCTV, such as fast food chain operator Yum Brands Inc, have also apologized and faced scrutiny from government agencies. Last December CCTV reported that two of Yum’s suppliers purchased chickens from farmers who used excessive levels of antibiotics in their animals. The report and subsequent investigations hurt sales at Yum’s KFC chain.

But Apple’s situation is somewhat different because CCTV’s claim was not completely new. Last July, a Chinese consumer rights group also slammed Apple for its after-sales policies. That time, however, Apple held its ground.

With the apology and warranty change, Apple’s mea culpa is significant not just because it comes from a tech firm that rarely apologizes, but also because Apple may be realizing that in China, it needs to be proactive.

“They’re out of the woods and into the weeds. Things will rarely be smooth for Apple in China – even if consumers love it there will always be factions in and out of government that are trying to take it down,” said Michael Clendenin, managing director of technology consultancy RedTech Advisors.

“Apple made it easy this time, but they have learned to be more proactive. The next time they stumble, it will be easier to recover,” he said.

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The company will spend more than $100 million to build the computers in the United States, Cook was cited as saying in an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek.

“This doesn’t mean that Apple will do it ourselves, but we’ll be working with people and we’ll be investing our money,” Cook said.

He told NBC in an interview to be aired late Thursday that only one of the existing Mac lines would be manufactured exclusively in the United States.

Higher-tech products are largely made overseas, often in subcontracted factories not owned by the brands whose products they are making.

Cheaper labor costs have been key in encouraging U.S. manufacturers to have move production to China, but with Chinese wage and transport costs increasing, the advantage against the U.S. has narrowed in recent years.

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It’s a sensitive subject for some American fans.

“There is always the question of whether they are playing on a level playing field,” Paul Schultz of Denver said. “Yes, I understand that they haven’t found any doping. But I suspect that that they are working hard on developing things where you can’t find them.”

Chinese swimmer Ye Shiwen, 16, was called into question after she broke the world record for the individual 400 IM on Saturday, swimming the last 50 meters faster than Ryan Lochte. Olympic officials said she tested negative for performance enhancing substances.

However, China caused controversy again today after the women’s badminton team was accused of purposefully losing its match against South Korea in order to face an easier team in the next road.

“I think in China, it’s sponsored by the government,” Schultz’s wife, Barbara Schultz, added. “It’s the way they do business.”

“I’m interested to see how once track and field starts going, it changes things,” Kellee Cooper, of Bristol, Oklahoma, said.

On the subject of Michael Phelps’ performance in London, Americans weren’t surprised that the world champion has failed to re-claim his titles in several events.

“He’s getting older and the younger people are showing that they are excelling with their speed,” Cheryl Van De Voorde, a U.S. fan in London, told Metro. “I think he is carrying it off like a real gentleman. I’m still proud of him.”

Paul and Barbara Schultz were in the stands when Phelps lost gold to South African swimmer Chad le Clos in the 200-meter butterfly. Later in the evening, they saw Phelps win gold with his team in the 4×200 freestyle relay. That win made him the most decorated Olympian of all-time with a whopping 19 medals.

“It was an amazing race,” Barbara Schultz said. “They finished way ahead.”

Great Britain, on the other hand, breathed a collective sigh of relief after its Olympic team (finally) won its first gold medal today. The host nation, which typically wins about 50 percent more medals than it would if it were competing abroad, had been off to a slow and frustrating start for fans and athletes alike.

“I think we always knew some of our best events were yet to come,” said Londoner Chris Roberts. “It was a relief to see the first one.”

After rowers Helen Glover and Heather Stanning secured Team GB’s first gold, British cycling favorite Bradley Wiggins snagged the second.

“I think the Olympics has probably really started for everyone now,” Matthew Weedle, of north Wales, told Metro. “The athletes felt pressure cause of all the buildup and the home crowd, and I think sometimes that can work against you as much as it can work for you. But the sky is the limit!”

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The pills are believed to ward off diseases, according to customs agents who have busted 35 smuggling attempts since August. More than 17,450 pills disguised as “stamina boosters” have been seized in luggage or through mail, according to The Telegraph.

Korea Customs Service said the pills were made in northeastern China using the chopped flesh of babies, which was dried on a stove and then converted into a powder. However, unsurprisingly, the capsules contained harmful bacteria.

No charges have been filed in the smuggling cases because the amount is deemed small and not for retail sale, but rather for personal consumption, according to the agents.

So far, China’s State Food and Drug Administration and its Health Ministry has yet to comment on the disturbing discoveries.

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But rights activists sounded a note of caution over expectations of a quick way out for Chen, saying Beijing could be worried that appearing to be soft might embolden other challengers to Communist Party rule ahead of a power handover late this year.

The announcement by the Chinese Foreign Ministry followed a dramatic and very public appeal by Chen, who spoke by phone to a U.S. congressional hearing on his case, asking to be allowed to spend time in the United States after fleeing 19 months of extra-judicial captivity in his home village.

“If he wants to study abroad, he can apply through normal channels to the relevant departments in accordance with the law, just like any other Chinese citizen,” ministry spokesman Liu Weimin said in a brief statement, adding Chen was still being treated in hospital.

Clinton, in Beijing for strategic and economic talks, said the U.S. ambassador to Beijing, Gary Locke, had spoken to Chen again on Friday when he had confirmed he wanted to go to the United States to study, along with his family.

“Over the course of the day progress has been made to help him have the future that he wants and we will be staying in touch with him as this process moves forward,” she said.

“This is not just about well known activists; it’s about the human rights and aspirations of more than a billion people here in China and billions more around the world and it’s about the future of this great nation and all nations,” Clinton added.

U.S. officials said they now expect to have regular access for both American diplomats and doctors. They also said that checks had shown that Chen had three broken bones from his escape, and his foot was put in a cast.

UNIVERSITY FELLOWSHIP

U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Chen had been offered a fellowship from an American university, where he can be accompanied by his wife and two children.

She said Washington expected Beijing to quickly deal with his application to travel abroad. “The United States government would then give visa requests for him and his immediate family priority attention,” Nuland said in a statement.

The crisis erupted last week when Chen sought refuge in the U.S. embassy. He stayed there for six days until Wednesday when U.S. officials took him to a Beijing hospital after assurances from the Chinese government that he and his family would receive better treatment.

But within hours, Chen, 40, had changed his mind, scuppering what had seemed to be a delicately constructed deal between Chinese and U.S. diplomats to allow him to receive treatment for a broken foot and be reunited with his wife and children.

Chen was anxious about his future and the fate of family members who apparently helped his escape and were detained by authorities in the rural eastern province of Shandong.

The issue cast a shadow over this week’s visit to Beijing by Clinton for talks intended to improve ties between the world’s two biggest economies.

Despite the friction, a U.S. official said China would raise foreign ownership limits in domestic joint venture securities firms and allow them to trade commodities and financial futures in a move to further liberalize capital markets. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said China had also made significant reforms to its currency regime, long a bone of contention.

Clinton told Chinese President Hu Jintao ties were the strongest they had ever been. But Beijing has nevertheless accused the United States of meddling in its affairs in the Chen case.

Chinese human rights lawyer Tang Jitian cautioned that the authorities could easily hold up the paperwork to delay Chen leaving the country. China’s security forces might not be as keen as its diplomats for a quick exit.

“This notice from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is positive news, but how it will play out we don’t know. For instance, getting the approval for the paperwork to go, there are many potential pitfalls,” said Tang. “We can’t be 100 percent optimistic.”

STARBUCKS-SIPPING TROUBLEMAKER

One of China’s main official newspapers accused Chen of being a pawn of American subversion of Communist Party power and described U.S. ambassador Locke as a backpack-wearing, Starbucks-sipping troublemaker.

“Chen Guangcheng has become a tool and a pawn for American politicians to blacken China,” the Beijing Daily said.

Chen, in translated comments, also told the congressional hearing that villagers who had helped him were “receiving retribution” and he was most concerned about the safety of his mother and brothers.

His village remained under lockdown. Guards chased away two Reuters reporters who attempted to enter the village on Friday. The four heavy-set guards ran slowly, yelling at the reporters as their car drove away.

Chen, who campaigned against forced abortions under China’s “one-child” policy, sought refuge in the U.S. embassy after escaping from house arrest in a village in Shandong on April 22.

The Chen case comes at a tricky time for China, which is engaged in a leadership change. The carefully choreographed transition has already been knocked out of step by the downfall of ambitious senior Communist Party official Bo Xilai in a scandal linked to the apparent murder of a British businessman.

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Chief executive Howard Schultz expects mainland China to overtake Canada as Starbucks’ second-largest market by 2014 and some analysts believe it could one day rival the United States as the company’s biggest market.

“The No. 1 opportunity for the entire company is China,” Schultz told about 300 Starbucks employees and their family members at a company forum in Beijing. “This is where we want to invest, where we want to grow.”

Starbucks has reorganized decision-making to transfer more responsibility to its China unit from its headquarters in Seattle.

“We now have a design team here, a real estate team here,” Schultz said. “We recognize that the size of the opportunity and the size of the prize in China is the most significant opportunity we have as a company.”

The world’s biggest coffee chain is a symbol of Western affluence in a nation of tea drinkers. But the tendency for Chinese visitors to linger in cafes and their lower income levels means sales volumes are much smaller than the United States and other markets where taking drinks to go is the norm.

“For a decade the core business was expats and tourists. Without question, the core business today is Chinese nationals,” Schultz told Reuters ahead of his trip to Beijing and Shanghai where he is also meeting store managers.

Xu Baoli, a 51-year-old stock trader in Beijing, said he visits Starbucks at least 10 times a month, but doesn’t go for the coffee. He is taking a break, surfing the Internet and meeting with clients.

Observers note that Chinese customers will sometimes bring their own food to Starbucks and Xu admits that every so often he doesn’t bother to buy anything at all.

“I like the concept,” said Xu. “Chinese people used to think you needed a spoon and saucer to drink coffee. Now, walking around with a Starbucks cup in your hand has become a fashion statement for Chinese.”

With the U.S. market maturing, few prizes are as enticing as China and its population of more than 1.3 billion.

Starbucks entered China in 1999 and now has more than 570 stores in 48 cities. By 2015, it plans more than 1,500 stores in 70-plus cities, though that would still only account for about half of China’s major cities and would be just a fraction of the 10,800 stores in the United States.

“It could very well be exactly what’s happening with Yum,” Michael Yoshikami, chief executive of Destination Wealth Management, referring to KFC parent Yum Brands Inc. The U.S. fast-food company got an early foothold in China and now gets more revenue from that market than any other.

And while Starbucks’ China cafes contribute less than 5 percent of company revenue, their store operating profit margins, at around 22 percent, are higher than U.S. cafes because they charge essentially U.S. prices in a market famed for its low labor costs.

HURDLES TO GROWTH

But even with that big silver lining, there are big impediments to growth including low incomes, rising costs and the fact that most Chinese don’t have a coffee habit.

The market is still small, with specialist coffee shops such as Starbucks booking sales of $358 million from mainland China in 2010. That was up from $104 million in 2005, according to Euromonitor International. By comparison, the United States accounts for $8 billion in revenue for Starbucks.

Consumers in China drink an average of just three cups of coffee per year, according to an industry study, and for many Starbucks prices are simply out of reach.

Based on average wages in China, it would take 1.3 hours of work in the more affluent east of China to buy a Starbucks tall (12-ounce) caramel macchiato. That goes up to 1.6 hours in the west and 1.9 hours in central China, says Bernstein Research analyst Sara Senatore.

Affordability remains a top concern for analysts, who worry that as Starbucks’ expansion progresses beyond the country’s biggest cities, it will be less able raise prices to protect margins.

But CEO Schultz said income levels had not been a barrier to growth, adding that Starbucks’ shops in non-core markets perform “as well or better” than stores in cities like Beijing and Shanghai, helped by pent-up demand.

Attracting quality employees when competition for skilled workers is intensifying as other chains also expand, is difficult, says Paul French, chief China analyst for market research firm, Mintel.

To that end, Starbucks announced plans to launch a training program called Starbucks China University next year. It also unveiled a 1 million yuan ($158,700) fund that will provide emergency financial assistance for Starbucks employees.

($1 = 6.3015 Chinese yuan)

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In China, there is a dish called “virgin boy eggs.” It requires two types of harvesting — egg harvesting, naturally… and harvesting the urine of boys 10-years-old or younger from school toilets. (We’ve never been so thankful for a regulated health department.)

As Reuters reports, the eggs are soaked, and then cooked, in the boys’ urine before being sold to locals who relish in the seasonal snack in the city of Dongyang. One egg is sold for the equivalent of about 24 cents.

The dish is heralded for its health benefits, believe it or not, though the reason the urine of young boys, specifically, is used seems to be unknown — it’s just been the tradition for centuries. The delicacy is credited with fending off the common cold and preventing joint pain, among other remedies.  

“If you eat this, you will not get heat stroke. These eggs cooked in urine are fragrant,” said Ge Yaohua, an owner of a “virgin boy eggs” stalls.

Hey, we live in New York — we’re well versed in the fragrance of urine. But smelling it is enough for us… no need to taste it.

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The revelation, if confirmed, is likely to further shake the U.S.-Pakistan relationship, which has been improving slightly after hitting its lowest point in decades following the May 2 bin Laden raid.

During the raid, one of two modified Blackhawk helicopters — believed to employ unknown stealth capability — malfunctioned and crashed, forcing the commandos to abandon it.

“The U.S. now has information that Pakistan, particularly the ISI, gave access to the Chinese military to the downed helicopter in Abbottabad,” the paper quoted a person “in intelligence circles” as saying.
Pakistan, which enjoys a close relationship with China, allowed Chinese intelligence officials to take pictures of the crashed chopper as well as take samples of its special “skin” that allowed the American raid to evade Pakistani radar, the newspaper reported.

Pakistan’s top spy agency denied the report.

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Security company McAfee, which uncovered the intrusions, said it believed there was one “state actor” behind the attacks but declined to name it, though one security expert who has been briefed on the hacking said the evidence points to China.

The long list of victims in the extended campaign include the governments of the United States, Taiwan, India, South Korea, Vietnam and Canada. Others include the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, International Olympic Committee,  World Anti-Doping Agency and an array of companies from defense contractors to high-tech enterprises.

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“On behalf of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the propaganda bureau of the State Council, you are welcome at Baidu’s headquarters,” ironically proclaims Kaiser Kuo, a former member of Chinese heavy metal band Tang Dynasty and now Baidu’s director for international communications.

“I know a lot of foreign journalists like you who assume wrongly that we are ruled by the Party. How come?” asks the suited 40-something — who still sports a silky, rocker-style mane of hair. “Remember that we are listed on the NASDAQ exchange and the great majority of our shareholders are from western countries.”

Baidu, China’s most popular search engine, has a strong reputation for heavily censoring its search results when it comes to politics, human rights or even organ trafficking. Yet the company, which controls some 75 percent of searches in the world’s biggest Internet market, encourages its users to download books and MP3s for free via its dedicated platforms. Last March, forty Chinese novelists published an open letter to denounce Baidu’s attitude toward intellectual property.

But for the Chinese, Baidu has the hallmarks of an organization worth working for. Every morning at 9:30, 10,000 young geeks rush to the search engine’s headquarters in northwest Beijing, many proudly carrying their Baidu backpacks offered at the last corporate party.

Inside the Beijing HQ, Baidu’s ground floor reminds us of fashion designer Pierre Cardin’s uber-
futuristic “bubble house” in southern France: five big white round rooms dedicated to relaxation or training lessons.

Baidu’s staff look pretty happy and laid-back. Take Xiao Wong, a gifted 25-year-old senior Web pro­gram­mer who has recently been awarded employee of the week. Last year, he was junior programmer at Chinese microblog Sina Weibo. Why did he quit?

“Less pressure and more money here,” he says. A Western-style cafeteria and a sophisticated gym with TV screens playing dating shows are just a handful of perks that lured him to the company.

Even if Baidu won’t let Google expand in China (only the Hong Kong version is available for Chinese), its headquarters obviously tries to look as cool as the Googleplex, Google’s corporate hub in California.

“We love them, they have a good brand and good values,” seems to be the only answer allowed among Baidu’s legions.

My journey in China’s dream factory stops here as I am not authorized to visit the censorship department, nor allowed to speak to any of the seven Baidu guys who can change search algorithms. In the main hall, a huge LCD screen displays millions of search requests in real time. I am not allowed to photograph it, as I am told “some people will think we’re watching our Internet users.”

Before we leave, we are introduced to Shuoba, the company’s latest Twitter-like platform, on top of Baidu’s popular 3-D mapping, shopping, news, audio or picture services. Surprisingly, complete ID details are required to log in.  

Is it imposed by law?

“Not yet,” Kuo says. “But we think the public security bureau may need this information if they want to identify harmful chatters.”  

After 10 days of traffic loss, Baidu eventually gave up the ID idea. Totalitarian ideas are not always good for business.

Is Baidu dating Facebook?

Facebook is still blocked in China, but reports are rife that the company is teaming up with Baidu to release a similar social networking website in China.

In April, several meetings with Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg and Baidu CEO Robin Li have indicated negotiations to create a Chinese Facebook, though no start date has been established.

Tapping into the Chinese market will not be easy given the country’s stringent Internet laws. Websites that do not adhere to China’s self-censorship rules, such as YouTube, are immediately blocked from the country’s ever-growing Internet users. 

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"The idea that the raspy troubadour of ’60s freedom anthems would go to a dictatorship and not sing those anthems is a whole new kind of sellout … Before Dylan was allowed to have his first concert in China on Wednesday at the Worker’s Gymnasium in Beijing, he ignored his own warning in ‘Subterranean Homesick Blues’ — ‘Better stay away from those that carry around a fire hose’ — and let the government pre-approve his set."

There’s some trenchant analysis to be made here about Western musicians performing in a country that has been cracking down on writers and artists in recent weeks, most notably Ai Weiwei, the architect of Beijing’s Bird’s Nest stadium, who was arrested last week for vague reasons. But Dowd seems to miss this general point — should Bob Dylan be playing in China? — in favor of a more specious specific one — should Bob Dylan have played two songs Maureen Dowd likes while in China?

Over at The Atlantic, James Fallows unpacks the situation. Dylan may not have played "Blowin’ in the Wind" or "The Times They are a-Changin’," but he did open his show with his Jesus-period "Gonna Change My Way of Thinking," a small rebuke in itself to the rigidly atheistic Chinese regime. While he was at it, Dylan also played the vitriolic "Ballad of a Thin Man" and the decidedly political "A Hard Rain’s a-Gonna Fall." Something was happening there, but Maureen Dowd doesn’t know what it is.

Or, as Dylan would have put it in in "Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again":

Now the redhead writes a column
Filled with expensive violins
Talkin’ ’bout the architect
And all his Chinese plans

The headlines tried to say to me
Hey, sing the same old songs
If only the dissident next-door had told me
That I was doin’ everything so wrong!

Oh! Mama! etc.

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Lines of police checked passersby and warned away foreign photo journalists in downtown Beijing and Shanghai after a U.S.-based Chinese website spread calls for Chinese people to emulate the “Jasmine Revolution” sweeping the Middle East and stage gatherings in support of democratic change.

Officials from China’s ruling Communist Party have dismissed the idea that they could be hit by protests like those that have rippled across the Middle East.

But a rash of detentions and censorship of online discussion of the Middle East have shown that Beijing is deeply nervous about any signs of opposition to its one-party rule.

What started as a call for protest has instead become an opportunity for the Chinese government to brandish the big and sophisticated security forces funded by rapid economic growth.

In Shanghai, police bundled away at least seven men. Reuters TV filmed several policemen forcing a man into a Public Security Bureau van, while other police held up an umbrella to block the view.

On the ground in China

In the Wangfujing shopping district downtown, construction barriers have been in place since Friday in a street on which activists had planned to demonstrate. Yesterday, Wangfujing morphed into something that looked more like a massive police station.

As I was trying to photograph myself, three policemen rushed toward me and asked for my credentials before sending me to the police station.

I was detained for an hour and met seven other foreign correspond­ents also in custody. After filling out documents, we were asked not to inter­view, photograph, film or report anything that happens in Wangfujing without their written permission. 

When I left the police station and approached Wangfujing again, I was escorted by two policemen. They were filming me all the way, until I finally decided to leave.  –Jordan Pouille

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“Who is sitting here?”

“Yes, he is.”

“What?”

“No, Hu.”

“Who?”

“That’s what I said.”

Kidding aside, you’ve got to hand it to the Chinese these days. They are flexing their international muscles and the message is unmistakable: Who are we? We are the country that wants to be the world’s dominant power in economics, trade, research, education and technology. America? Uh, yeah … you and Great Britain can go tend your tomatoes at the Superpower Retirement Home.

Part of the way China is pulling off this trick was on display during this week’s visit. Chinese officials proudly declared themselves ready to negotiate as equal partners; but when pushed on environmental concerns or human rights or any number of other thorns, they are quick to slap on a different mask. That’s when they portray themselves as a “developing” country, which might suffer great harm if held to the standards of others.

There may be some truth to that. China has made enormous strides, but it still faces the huge challenges that come from having more than a billion citizens. (For example, parking room for the annual All China picnic.)

But this is also something of a stalking horse. Sure, they’ve got problems, but they also have a hugely aggressive space program, they are cranking engineers out like sausages and they are engaging the world’s markets with shrewdness and tenacity. In other words, they are moving every day more firmly into position to say they are no longer struggling, but dominating. 

They are not there yet. But for a country that measures its history by millennia, a few more years of waiting while they amass their power is nothing.

Who are they? China. That’s Hu.

–CNN’s Tom Foreman is a regular on “AC360°”/www.ac360.com and “Campbell Brown: No Bias, No Bull.”

Metro does not endorse the opinions of the author, or any opinions expressed on its pages. Opposing viewpoints are welcome. Please send 300-word submissions to letters@metro.us.

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Its undervaluing of the yuan makes China’s exports artificially cheap, critics charge, and contributes to a trade gap that Washington puts around $270 billion.

“This … unfairly tilts the playing field toward domestic Chinese companies,” said Rick Larsen, the Democratic co-chairman of the bipartisan U.S.-China Working Group in the House.

Beijing residents said BBC and CNN broadcasts of the summit went blank when questions moved to human rights and anti-Chinese protesters.

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Obama and Hu vowed to seek common ground as they launched talks aimed at easing the strains of the past year over North Korea, economic imbalances, human rights, Taiwan, Tibet and a host of other issues.

Welcoming Hu to the White House, Obama hailed the event as a chance to demonstrate that the world’s two biggest economic powers “have an enormous stake in each other’s success.”

Obama wants the visit to help highlight his efforts to boost the struggling U.S. economy and cut unemployment that has been persistently above 9 percent.

Gently raising China’s human rights record, Obama said: “History shows that societies are more harmonious, nations are successful and the world is more just when the rights and responsibilities of all nations and all people are upheld, including the universal rights of every human being.”

Hu said he had come to “enhance mutual trust” and open a new chapter in relations but signaled he would bristle at any effort to push China on its currency practices, human rights and other disputes that it deems to be domestic matters.

Hu has been reluctant to give ground to U.S. demands to intensify pressure on China’s ally, North Korea, to abandon its nuclear ambitions.

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U.S. and Chinese military ties were curtailed for much of last year after Beijing protested against Obama’s proposed sale of $6.4 billion in weapons to Taiwan.

Gates said a lack of ties between the two militaries could magnify risks. U.S. and Chinese defense-related ships have jostled in seas near China in past years, and in 2001 a mid-air collision between a U.S. surveillance plane and a Chinese air force fighter erupted into a diplomatic standoff.

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