Last night's news on the state of the CoDominion

Things look a bit rocky in the relationship between the two major powers.

Reuters: China warns of trade war if U.S. currency bill passes
By David Stanway and Aileen Wang
BEIJING | Tue Oct 4, 2011 1:00am EDT

China warned Washington it is "adamantly opposed" to a proposed U.S. bill aimed at forcing Beijing to let its currency rise, saying its passage could lead to a trade war between the world's top two economies.

In a coordinated response, the Chinese central bank and the ministries of commerce and foreign affairs accused Washington of "politicizing" global currency issues.

The bill to be debated in the United States this week violates World Trade Organization rules and forcing the yuan to appreciate would weaken joint efforts to revive the global economy, the foreign ministry said.

It might indeed violate WTO rules, but it makes for effective domestic politics in the U.S. That it is likely to be overturned later may just reinforce the opinion of the cynics that this is grandstanding, even if it would be good policy for the U.S. if it could be implemented.

Also, with power comes responsibility.

Reuters: Analysis: China to keep Pakistan embrace at arm's length
By Sui-Lee Wee
BEIJING | Mon Oct 3, 2011 11:45pm EDT

Pakistan, facing a crisis with the United States, has leaned closely to longtime partner China, offering its "all-weather friendship" with Beijing as an alternative to Washington.

But Pakistan will be disappointed if it hopes to replace American patronage with the same from China.

While China does not welcome the U.S. presence near its border, it wants stability on its western flank and believes an abrupt withdrawal of Washington's support for Pakistan could imperil that. It also does not want to upset warming relations with India by getting mired in subcontinent security tension.

China and the U.S. have been nominal allies of Pakistan since the days of Nixon, when both used the country as a counterweight to India. While the Chinese have a real regional rivalry with the world's largest democracy, the U.S. was just peeved at India's neutrality vis-a-vis the USSR. Nowadays, I think the U.S. has more in common with India than Pakistan.

Finally, there is another China, and they're celebrating the 100th anniversary of the founding of their state. From Next Media Animation on YouTube:

On October 10th 1911, the nationalist army in China got rid of the monarchy once and for all. So in Taiwan (no, we're not Japan, Korea, or China) celebrates it every year since the nationalist party (Guomingtang) moved to Taiwan.

And this year, it's the 100th year celebration!! So being NMA and all, Monica is giving you a sneak peek into the celebration along with a special show, brought to you by yours truly.

Happy centennial, Republic of China!