Nor is it reassuring to recall that China, up to now, has been stubbornly watering down sanctions on Iran, investing in major offensive military systems, and pillorying Western leaders for irresponsible financial policies and protectionism. But the point in reciting this litany is not so much to highlight China’s wayward behavior as it is to demonstrate the dilemma in which the country finds itself: if it behaves like a “normal” power, the world will forget the many hundreds of millions of people that it still needs to pull out of poverty.