U.S. policy in East Asia and especially toward the People’s Republic of China is evolving in the Bush administration’s second term. Gone are references to “the best ever” in describing Sino-U.S. relations; added are new concerns centered around China’s international diplomacy in areas far afield from Asia and a more vigorous emphasis by Washington on the promotion of freedom and democracy. Greater attention is being paid to a not-so-new but increasingly active potential “battlefield”: multilateral mechanisms in and around East Asia, especially those that might exclude the United States.