It would be nice to think that post-communist countries would foster strong party systems, with mass memberships that could connect policy, politicians and voters.
Communistcountries and one-party states also tend to perform better than economics and population alone would suggest which may be good news for the Chinese this time, though not for the former Soviet block.
An editorial in China's People's Daily - the official mouthpiece of the CommunistParty - said Japan has "always slavishly imitated the US" and that its frequent visits to Asean countries were "to maintain unanimity with the US' 'return to Asia' strategy".