Bates Gill

China's recent antisatellite test, which the military conducted while leaving civilian authorities mostly in the dark, raises a disturbing question: Will Beijing's stovepiped bureaucracies prevent China from becoming a reliable global partner?

U.S.-Chinese relations have been badly damaged by allegations of nuclear espionage and nato's accidental bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade. But America's China policy has drifted for more than a decade, bereft of both goals and domestic support. The United States must move beyond the mantra of engagement -- which is a process, not a goal -- to set realistic objectives and drum up public backing. Two places to start are WTO membership and China's stumbling economy. But the two countries must also get used to being at loggerheads about such issues as Taiwan and human rights.