The administration took a tougher line when Clinton addressed the South China Sea question at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations meeting in Hanoi in July 2010. Chinese President Hu Jintao’s subsequent official visit to Washington in January 2011 was successful, but many Chinese editorialists complained that the US was trying to “contain” China and prevent its peaceful rise.
美国政府在南海问题上采取了强硬路线。10年7月，国务卿克林顿在河内向东盟表达美国的立场。随后，11年1月，中国国家主席胡锦涛成功对美国进行国事访问。然而，与此同时，中国国内舆论多对美国“压制”中国和平崛起表示不满。