Chinese sources see a link between the speculation about a likely boycott of the nuclear security summit by Mr Hu Jintao and Mr Obama's decision to send Mr James Steinberg, Deputy Secretary of State, and Mr Jeffrey Bader , a White House aide, to Beijing last week reportedly to remove misunderstandings arising from the decisions to sell more arms to Taiwan and to receive His Holiness. The visiting US officials were reported to have reassured their Chinese interlocutors that Mr Obama's decisions did not mean any change in the US position on the one-China policy and that Tibet was an integral part of China
Commenting on the visit of the two officials to Beijing, Mr Philip Crowley, a State Department spokesman, said on March 4, 2010, that the US and China "agreed on the high importance each attaches to the relationships and their commitment to building a positive, cooperative and comprehensive relationship." He added that the US responded to China's concerns on Taiwan "by reiterating that it has followed a consistent approach, pursued by both administrations of both political parties, on a 'One China' policy."