(Global Times, Dec.20,07)

As of 2007, China might no longer be referred to as a "hot" topic: more fitting would be to refer to it as a "burning" issue.

In the Autumn of 2006, on visiting America, there was the feeling that something had changed. Most of all, the impression was that the topic of China had moved from being a "hot" topic to a "burning" one. From the biggest to the smallest think tanks in Washington, practically every day one encountered a new report about China. There were a wide range of themes, though most concentrated on the Sino-American perspective. China's role in Africa and the Middle East, China's relationship with America, China's military modernization, and the 17th CCP Party Conference were all hot topics of discussion, amongst many others. A well-known strategic and international research think tank held a conference on Chinese-African relations, attracting more than 200 attendees, something that would have been unthinkable in the past. Previously, research organizations would have only appointed one or two China specialists. Now the Brookings Institute and the Center for Naval Analysis, to name just two, established their own centers for Chinese studies. The former has recently appointed two foreign born Chinese researchers in succession as its experts on China research. The latter now has in excess of ten China specialists working in its research center, thus making it Washington's largest China research establishment in terms of numbers.

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http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2007-12/23/content_7298119_1.htm