HONG KONG — U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on her maiden overseas trip has a golden opportunity to show that the new administration of Barack Obama understands and is prepared to make its best efforts to put America's most important bilateral relationship on a surer footing. I'm not talking about her visit to Japan, important though that is, but about what she does in Beijing.
She will have an opportunity to put right the unfortunate impression created by Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner in his Senate confirmation hearings when he accused China of "manipulating" its currency. What was he thinking about?
If President Obama was using the treasury secretary as a lightning rod or political playmaker, the whole world must be worried about how savvy he will be in handling the next part of the massive economic and financial mess.