Chinese burns

The latest cache of Wikileaks has done America no end of good. The Saudis urged the US to bomb Iran – a sign that the Arab world can make common cause with the States and Israel. It has also emerged that North Korea has sold the Iranians long range rockets – Moscow, Berlin and Istanbul are all within the Ayatollah’s range. But the most important revelation is that China has tired of North Korea’s lunatic machinations, recognising that the rogue state is an impediment to global and regional security. China is also convinced that the country will not survive Kim Jung-il’s death and favours a union of the two Koreas, provided the new state is pro-Chinese (could it be anything but?).

This is a crucial geopolitical change and an indication that China’s economic strength will be matched by at least a measure of political maturity. Julian Assange, the self-appointed apostle of truth, has prejudiced that diplomatic progress: the Chinese are livid that their confidence has been broken.