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Is China becoming the new diplomatic super-power? It used to be the US, of course, but since the Iraq war, it's been almost impossible for Washington to make much headway on the international stage. So who was it who finally persuaded the North Koreans to sign up for a deal on abandoning their nuclear weapons programme? Who was it who leant on the Sudanese to persuade them to accept a hybrid UN-African Union force in Darfur? And who was it who persuaded the Burmese generals that at the very least they should accept a visit from the UN envoy, Ibrahim Gambari?

No one knows for sure, but maybe the answer in each case was China.

The suggests today that now the US is hoping that the Chinese may have a role to play in Iran. "They might just be the administration’s best hope for peacefully resolving the next big crisis on the horizon, Iran’s refusal to give up the right to enrich uranium. Or so some in the administration are hoping."

President Putin seems these days to be mainly interested in demonstrating to the US that the Russia can't be pushed around any more. He knows that a "strong Russia" policy goes down well with Russian voters, and although he won't be running for President next year, no one thinks he's bowing out. Indeed, one Russian commentator suggested on The World Tonight the other day that after Mr Putin has stood down as President, he'll then be re-elected as Prime Minister, and then within a matter of months, the new President will stand down, and hey presto ... Mr Putin will be back as President,

So I suspect we need to try to work out what China perceives to be its diplomatic role in the world. We know it wants next year's Olympics to be acknowledged as a huge success, but how far is it prepared to go to meet international concerns over its human rights record? And if Washington decides it needs China's help, in Iran or anywhere else, does that mean it'll ease up on the human rights stuff?

All thoughts welcomed ...

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