Energy security therefore plays a growing part in China's foreign policy.

ECONOMIST: Energy security

After meetings in Beijing, Mr. Kerry and China's top foreign policy official, State Councilor Yang Jiechi, said they would work together to persuade Pyongyang to return to an international diplomatic process, called the six-party talks, which has sought unsuccessfully over the past decade to curtail North Korea's nuclear program.

WSJ: U.S. Offers Direct Korea Talks

The lesson for China of Japan's policy change - the result of an unprecedented budget deficit - is that foreign investors may not give the benefit of the doubt to Chinese New Deal infrastructure plans next year if private consumption and investment fail to pick up.

CNN: Emerging Asia can cope with the coming slide

And China's one-child policy was an entirely home-grown idea, although it had its foreign admirers.

ECONOMIST: Population control

But a Chinese foreign-ministry spokesman said this week that he had not heard of any change in China's policy of helping North Korea cope with its shortages of food and energy.

ECONOMIST: Six-party talks are to resume. Two cheers