China’s attitudes to the Gulf War and Locker bie Air Disaster—where Beijing understood and did not oppose British and
American pressure on Libya and Iraq, despite maintaining friendly relations with Tripoli and Baghdad—are examples of this policy, as well as letting the United States check a Chinese container ship, the Yinhe, suspected of carrying sensitive materials to Iran in 1993. China was also sanguine about Taiwanese leader Li Deng-hui’s visit to the UAE and Jordan. The policy of “being detached generally and involved appropriately” represented a U.S.-centric orientation in China’s foreign strategy.