China's President Xi Jinping will meet once again with President Obama at the end of March on the margins of the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, D.C. This will be President Obama's only bilateral meeting with any of the 52 heads of state and government attending the summit, so it will be a sign of respect for Xi and an indication of how important President Obama considers the U.S. relationship with China (the subject of a new paper of mine).

The Xi-Obama meeting will come at a time of more than usual friction in the U.S.-China relationship, highlighted by an uplifting U.S. presidential campaign (not…) in which shots at China are about as common as disparaging remarks about Mexican immigrants.