We are supposed to believe that the Treasury Secretary led a huge delegation to China only a few months ago, and was already so disappointed with the reaction that now he has decided to kick off a trade dispute in the WTO? I'm dubious. For one thing, diplomacy, and especially diplomacy with China, requires a great deal more than a few months of effort. Second, for the Treasury Secretary to turn over the initiative to the Trade Ambassador is not a sign of influence in the Administration; it looks like Secretary Paulson has been overruled. Third, the whole effort in the WTO has little chance of producing any immediate effect on China's behavior, or perhaps any effect at all. It's hardly likely to produce currency adjustment, the Secretary's stated goal.

The economic relationship between the United States and China is the big topic of the next twenty years.

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