What happens when a third-string journalist tries to a foreign policy expert? This happens:

The Chinese, who launched their first astronaut into space last year, are "shocked" the United States has not welcomed them into the tight-knit community of space-faring nations.
...
[This expectation of a warm welcome] ran into a wall of U.S. suspicion that the Chinese program, which is under military control, could someday pose a threat to the U.S. domination in satellites used for military communications, reconnaissance and tracking.

Launching the first man into orbit was a stunt designed to send a message to the United States... we can loft a warhead anywhere into your country and there's not a damned thing you can do about it. Our reply meant the same thing. It took forty years before we started to "warmly" co-operate with our other space rival.

Now here comes the next bunch, with missles and warheads and a big ol' oppressive oligarchy and a military nobody really understands let alone controls, and we're supposed to welcome them with open arms? The only really surprising thing is that a reporter would find it surprising.

Or maybe not.