us-china relations

The grandstanding is understandable for politicians facing voters battered by the Great Recession. But China's growth is fueling the strong results that companies continue to deliver. And China's global trade surplus has actually been shrinking.

China's government has finally begun to allow its currency to slowly appreciate against the dollar. But hopes that the new policy will result in a dramatically different trade picture -- slowing exports to the U.S. and helping to create American jobs -- are unlikely to be realized.

The Clash of the Titans. The Rumble in the Jungle. War of the Roses. None of these tried-and-true cliches properly captures the potential havoc on the world's economy that a trade war between the U.S. and China could have as one of the world's greatest consumer is pitted against the world's top...