Triangular Taiwan-U.S.-China relations will remain a focus of concern in the Year of the Tiger. While receiving visiting James Sensenbrenner, Jr., a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, Wednesday, President Ma Ying-jeou said progress in cross-Taiwan Strait relations is closely related to the development of U.S.-Taiwan relations, citing the significance of U.S. military sales to Taiwan's security and talks with China. Although U.S.-China relations have recently been strained over a U.S. arms sale to Taiwan and a planned meeting between U.S. President Barack Obama and the Dalai Lama, five American warships docked for a port call in Hong Kong Wednesday. Beijing's approval of the port call may indicate that the Chinese government will not let its relations with Washington deteriorate further. The following are excerpts of leading local newspapers' coverage related to the issue: China Times: President Ma told Sensenbrenner during their Wednesday meeting that his government's efforts to improve relations with China over the past 20 months have eliminated the possibility of war in the Taiwan Strait. Moreover, Ma said, his government has employed similar conciliatory approaches in other diplomatic arenas, hoping to boost mutual trust and cooperation with Taiwan's major trading partners, including the United States, Japan, the European Union and Southeast Asian countries. Stressing that solid Taiwan-U.S. security relations are crucial to cross-strait reconciliation and engagement, Ma said continued U.S. sale of defnesive weapons to Taiwan has helped enhance the confidence and sense of security among Taiwan's government and people in seeking peaceful solutions to cross-strait disputes. (Feb. 18, 2010) Liberty Times: U.S. President Barack Obama will meet with the Dalai Lama Feb. 18, despite China's warning that such a meeting would hurt ties already strained by U.S. weapons sales to Taiwan. The Dalai Lama's chief envoy said Tuesday that Obama probably will not make a public appearance this week with the Tibetan spiritual leader during a White House visit that is already infuriating China. Briefing reporters Tuesday on the eve of the Dalai Lama's arrival, Lodi Gyari said Thursday's meeting in the White House between the Nobel Peace laureates, even if out of the public eye, would be an important boost for Tibet and for the broader U.S. commitment to human rights. A joint appearance by Obama and the Dalai Lama before reporters could make tense U.S.-China ties even worse and further complicate U.S. efforts to secure Chinese help in settling North Korean and Iranian nuclear standoffs and crucial economic, military and environmental problems. The Dalai Lama, who has met with every U.S. president over the past two decades, is a recurring needle in U.S.-Chinese ties. China accuses the monk of pushing for Tibetan independence, which he has denied repeatedly. Any meeting between the Dalai Lama and a foreign leader is considered by China to be an infringement of its sovereignty. Meanwhile, political analysts said Beijing's approval of the port call by the USS Nimitz battle group in Hong Kong is an indication that the Chinese government does not want to let Sino-U.S. relations deteriorate further, which would hamper cooperation on the global economy and other issues. (Feb. 18, 2010) Economic Daily News: The latest statistics released by the U.S. Treasury Department showed that China trimmed its holdings of U.S. Treasury bonds by US$34.2 billion in December 2009. The big drop in China's holdings meant that it was no longer the largest foreign holder of U.S. government debt, ceding the top spot to Japan. Japan increased its holdings of U.S. Treasury bonds in December by US$11.5 billion to US$768.8 billion, exceeding China's total of US$755.5 billion. China's reductions in holdings, if they continue, could force the U.S. government to make higher interest payments at a time when it is running record federal budget deficits. Analysts speculated that China's reduction may be a strategy to counter U.S. pressure on it to raise the value of its currency to reflect its rising economic might. (Feb. 18, 2010) 