Last night President Bush mentioned China just once in his State of the Union address, a passing reference in a recommendation to “create a new international clean technology fund.” He wants the fund to help Beijing “make greater use of clean energy sources.”

Whether or not one thinks the Chinese will own this century—it is unlikely they will—and whether or not we think Beijing is benign—it is not—one cannot assess the state of the American union without mentioning China in a more comprehensive fashion. Due in part to Washington’s generous and indulgent policies, the modern Chinese state has become increasingly assertive and now has attained the power to steer the world ahead or throw it into reverse. What Beijing and its proxies do in the months and years ahead will have a far larger impact on America than anything the President discussed last night.

Since the last State of the Union message, China has supported the nuclear weapons programs in Iran and North Korea, flooded our markets with toxic products and impure food, and injured our businesses by violating trade pledges. It threatened to dump its dollar holdings to devastate our economy and warned American forces to stay away from Asian waters. It has encouraged our adversaries and bullied our friends. Wasn’t any of this worth a mention last night?