TSUNAMI UPDATE: China’s limited role in the relief effort shows that it’s not ready for prime time when it comes to superpower status:

BEIJING China’s new and growing influence in Asia, which some analysts say has come at the expense of the United States, is showing its limits as the aspiring superpower plays an active but secondary role in responding to the tsunami disaster.

The Chinese response is significant by even the recent standards of its inward-looking history. But it is also a reminder that the world’s most populous country is far from being the dominant power in Asia.

On the other hand, that’s now. Some people think we’re not worried enough about where China is headed.