The Adults In The Room

The USA, which has announced that it is gearing up to fight wars with Russia AND China, is meeting with China in trade talks. At the same time, the US military is provoking China in the South China Sea, claiming that they are upholding a treaty that the US has not signed, to make sure that the Chinese don't shut off the trade routes that they use to ship their goods to the rest of the world. Cause that makes sense.

The Chinese responded with a beautiful statement showing that they refuse to take the bait.
"It is hard to determine if the US is using this provocation as a bargaining chip....If that is the case, the US' strong willingness to reach an agreement is abundantly clear."
I have never seen such a Pollyannish spin on a war provocation in my life, but I find it delightfully amusing. What if they gave a war and nobody came?

We have been told, with straight faces, that Mad Dog ("It's fun to shoot some people") Mattis is "the adult in the room" when it comes to the US government. It seems that the Chinese government has actual adults in the room, which is good for people interested in avoiding nuclear war.
The Chinese consistently refer to "win/win" solutions to conflicts, and speak of negotiating peaceful compromises.
In this statement they refer to the usual US position as "zero sum", but the actual US position is Full Spectrum Dominance. But it is clear that that policy is no longer viable, when other countries in the world have adults leading them, who refuse to bend over and allow the US to dominate them. It is time for the US to use diplomacy and compromise, instead of Smash and Grab.

Are there any actual adults in our government? I guess we'll find out.