High-level talks in Beijing between the United States and China this week have been overwhelmed by the dramatic and continually shifting story of Chen Guangcheng. The blind dissident who escaped to a U.S. Embassy is no longer in U.S. custody. But he remains at the center of a diplomatic brouhaha – and his story is causing tension between two countries that already struggle to see eye-to-eye.
What’s the truth surrounding Chen Guangcheng? How will his situation affect the bilateral conversation? And what is the current state of U.S.-China relations?