China's snub follows
story on leaked cable

Envoy had laughed off Beijing might
as first reported by News from Limbo

Rather than tolerate a loss of face from a leaked State Department cable, the Chinese military apparently retaliated by conducting a test flight of a new stealth fighter, a stunt that undermined a high-profile visit to Beijing by the U.S. defense secretary.

The cable, from the Wikileaks cache, said that China's increased bullying at the diplomatic level lacked military credibility.

Purportedly the military failed to alert the civilian leadership of the test Tuesday, just hours before Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates sat down with President Hu Jintao to discuss frayed relations.

Gates told reporters that Hu told him that the test “had absolutely nothing to do with my visit."

Asked whether he believed Hu, Gates said, “I take President Hu at his word.”

On Jan. 8, News from Limbo ran a story headlined "U.S. envoy sees little threat from China's rough tactics" and quoted a senior U.S. diplomat, Robert Goldberg, as seeing more swagger than threat from China's new "global assertiveness."

Goldberg entitled his 2009 report from Beijing Stomp around and carry a small stick: China's new 'global assertiveness' raise hackles, but has more form than substance.

The cable was published by Oslo's Aftenposten newspaper but News from Limbo was evidently the first to highlight Goldberg's assessment.