But it may also be because Mr Rumsfeld is halfway through a transformation of America's military, from a lumbering force of infantry and armoured divisions built to face the Soviets into a lighter, faster, supposedly smarter, technology-driven machine for the wars of tomorrow.

ECONOMIST: Bush makes room for Rice | The

After an initial surprise, the Chinese acted like a hurt lover, surprised that the US economic machine, the largest consumer-driven economy in the world, had seemingly ground to a halt.

FORBES: China In The Driver's Seat

KMT, which was still jailing and sometimes murdering its opponents only 20 years ago, and whose money-driven political machine has already been almost crippled by losing access to government coffers, this is a matter of life and death.

ECONOMIST: Taiwan