It was inevitable. The unprecedented rise of China and the comparative decline of the United States during The Great Recession has led to some tensions rising between the two great powers. I cannot help but think at these moments of the nature documentaries featuring alpha male primates battling for domination of their social structure and wonder, sadly, how far human civilization has actually evolved (And, tangentially, if there isn't a better way?). My colleague David Alm ably zeroed-in on the flash point at the heart of the contretemps between Beijing and Washington -- President Obama's upcoming meeting with the Dalai Lama. Fareed Zakaria calls it "Discord over Dalai Lama" in his "What in the World segment on his CNN show. The Economist asks: "If the United States and China cannot co-operate, what hope do we have of stemming climate change and the spread of nuclear weapons, or returning the global economy to a path of stable growth?"

The United States' approval of the sale of missiles -- a $6.4 billion arms package -- to Taiwan despite Chinese opposition did not help things. China, in response, has canceled bilateral military ties between the two nations. American Progress notes that while startling, this is not new, "The United States, citing its responsibilities under the Taiwan Relations Act, rolls out a defensive arms package (read: no F-16 warplanes) against Chinese protests, and China's leaders respond with cancellation of military exchanges." President Obama's nuclear free vision -- endorsed, at least symbolically, by "realists" like Henry Kissinger and George Schultz -- is, unfortunately, looking farther and farther away from becoming a reality.

We cannot fail to note though that Senator Arlen Specter, in a tight race in the electorally crucial Pennsylvania, asked the President at a meeting of the Democratic conference last week to toughen up on China. China, aware of the prevailing populist winds in America, is now taxing American chicken in what can only be construed as a big political game of, well, chicken.