No word on how this chicken tax will affect the Colonel.

Things are not looking good between the US and China. The two super powers have spent the last few months feuding like a couple in the end stage of a divorce – biting back at one another in almost petty ways, while the rest of the world watches on with self-conscious awkwardness.

Today, the Chinese government placed tariffs on chicken imported from America, claiming that US poultry farmers are flooding the market with cheap American chicken. The BBC World Service characterised the move as an attempt to “punish” the US, especially after President Barack Obama placed steep taxes on Chinese tyres in September. The move also comes just after Obama confirmed yesterday that he would in fact meet with the Dalai Lama, Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader, when he visits Washington, DC, on 17 and 18 February.

The Associated Press, in an analysis of the current state of affairs, wrote that Obama has little choice other than to meet with the Dalai Lama, even after China claimed that it would harm bilateral relations between the two countries: “As Obama struggles to regain his footing after political setbacks, the last thing he needs is to open himself up to fresh criticism that he is kowtowing to China.”

After China halted its military cooperation with the US and threatened American companies with trade sanctions following the Taiwan arms deal, NPR reported yesterday afternoon that few analysts believe that this “current chill” between the two super powers will last. This, despite the fact that domestically, China is pushing a tougher stance towards the US.

Meanwhile, an editorial yesterday in China Daily suggested that some think that things between the two nations really aren’t that bad – that in fact, the “G2” are just pretending to hate one another in order to quell international fears that the two are running the world. Right. The editorial, probably sensibly, dismisses those claims, but says that the US’s policies towards China are going the right way to provoke a trade war. The “bubble of Western ideology” is about to pop soon, at the same time that China is putting forward a “soft power” initiative, trying to become more influential in global politics and to render its image more friendly. The only possible solution is for the US to allow the Western ideology bubble to burst and to fully engage in dialogue with China and other countries following a different ideology.

And The Economist cautions that the Obama Administration has a fine line to walk, between standing firm against China and unnecessarily provoking the country. The two need to figure out how to deal with one another to avoid a full-blown conflict: “Nobody will prosper if disagreements become conflicts.”