Still, one is left wonder if this new collaborative bonhomie and ethnic bonding will prove strong enough to cut through not only the long history of distrustful interactions between the US and China, but also the destabilizing effects of China’s sudden economic rise? For, although the US has drawn strength from the ideal of a “melting pot” – and President Barack Obama’s cabinet does represent a new high-water mark for diversity – Americans have often shown a xenophobic distrust of immigrants who have drawn too close to power.