Obama was in Asia this past weekend, and so China is back in the news a bit. In Obama Interview, Signs of China’s Heavy Hand starts to tell a little bit about the framework in which the media and Chinese people interact, and although it’s not too directly stated, it’s starting to get closer to the truth and I can read meaning into it that isn’t neccessarily there, of course.

From the article, “Mr. Anti said that Southern Weekly seemed to have forfeited the chance for a less sanitized encounter. In the first three questions, Mr. Obama was asked how he felt about his first visit to China, whether he still had time to play basketball and how he saw China-United States cooperation in the region. “They just talked about nothing,” Mr. Anti said. “Just empty talk.””

This “empty talk” is what friendships are based on, no? You don’t make friends by asking about someone’s grades in schools. You start out by talking about sports, for instance. Obama is making friends.