Kenneth G. Lieberthal - Mentions and Appearances

Now a senior fellow in foreign policy and global economy and development at the Brookings, Lieberthal said at any given time, there were a lot of issues in US-China relationship. "But I thought we managed to keep the overall relationship in pretty good shape," he said. 

To Lieberthal, top Chinese and US leaders communicate to each other better now because they see each other more often. 

"I think in those respects the relationship is calmer and more subtle. And I think it has a much stronger base, and is more much institutionalized, than the media in each of countries treat it," he said.

The worst possible outcome here would be [that] the Chinese neither are prepared to guarantee the safety of Chen Guangcheng and his family in China, nor are willing to let us get him to the airport and get him out of China, [in] which case, we've got a long-term resident in U.S. facilities, and we have a long-term major irritant in our bilateral relationship.

The political earthquake in Beijing this year has been the Bo Xilai affair ... There are some people in China who I’m sure feel that all of that was a set up by the U.S. government to embarrass the leaders.

[Romney’s China pledge] may be a smart electoral strategy…it is not a smart strategy in terms of how it positions him if he assumes office.

[Xi Jinping] will [likely] become the head of China, head of the Communist Party, head of the government and head of the military.

The chances of long-term, systemic instability [in China] are very...small. The chances of some major disruption…are considerably greater.

The Chinese are going to be extremely interested in getting [Biden’s] take on … what will occur in the U.S. management of its deficit.

Chinese investment in the United States ... potentially can generate of a lot of U.S. jobs

The Chinese are extremely protocol conscious and [know] what has been done in the past and will use it to negotiate the treatment they want.

To Beijing, the way to calm things down is to engage in talks, not challenge North Korea, try to just tamp it down.