ABSTRACT
China's sense of its own importance and uniqueness and the traditional sense of hierarchy in the Chinese mind combine to cause Chinese leaders to feel that only one country in the world, United States (US) is truly on the same level in terms of national stature and prestige. In 1998 China's new leadership team, highly confident in itself and its plans, and sure of what it wants, presents a worthy counterpart to the US Bill Clinton administration. Against the huge importance of United States as a market and source of foreign exchange earnings, China relies on the United States for relatively few of its imports. Of total Chinese global imports in 1997 of US$142.4 billion, imports from the United States according to US figures were only US$12.8 billion, or nine percent. China says it wants United States to stop interfering in its internal affairs—meaning the United States should stay out of China's way as it tries to solve "Taiwan problem".
