ABSTRACT
The Shenyang consulate-general incident led to rising tensions in US-China relations over responsibility for the collision, but it also became a lucky break by opening bilateral contacts, as China and the United States, which had not had much contact since the start of the George W. Bush administration, sat down at the negotiating table to resolve the issue. State Councillor Tang Jiaxuan, meeting with members from both countries at the first session of the New Japan-China Friendship Committee for the 21st Century in December 2003, described the phenomenon of bilateral political relations that cause cooling in contrast to their economic relations that appear active as "hot economics, cold politics". This expression came to be used generally by both countries as a neologism symbolizing Japan-China relations at that time. President Hu Jintao's visit to Japan took place in the tense atmosphere following wide coverage of the poisoned frozen dumplings incident and the Tibet issue.
