Still Not Ready For Prime Time....

These are stunningly stupid comments from Liu Jianchao, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry yesterday told the U.S. government not to interfere with a Chinese-controlled company's bid to buy a California energy giant, triggering objections from American officials and lawmakers who oppose the deal.

Saying things like this can have the exact opposite effect to what was intended. I wonder if he was just born stupid or learned how to be a dope on-the-job. His bone headed comments have raised the ire of several law makers who will probably make it more difficult for CNOOC to take over Unocal since he has now made the Unocal bid an issue of sovereignty. Particularly if...

"The affairs of the United States government should be left to the United States," said Patrick A. Mulloy, a member of the United States-China Economic and Security Review Commission, a federal panel that monitors the economic relations between the two countries and has been critical of CNOOC's offer for Unocal.
"If we have a statute on the books, [is the Chinese Foreign Ministry] telling us not to enforce it?" Mr. Mulloy said.

The clowns in Beijing who are surrounded by yesmen and sycophants just don't know how to behave publicly. And maybe they should heed Zhou Enlai words "Violating any country's territorial integrity and sovereignty and interfering in any country's internal affairs cannot but endanger peace."