Fireworks in US-China relations - in a good way for Chinese New Year

New York

VIEWED from one angle, a hopeful tableau of Chinese-American relations unfolded over the weekend on a pier in Brooklyn: US and Chinese pyrotechnicians loading three barges with equipment for a major fireworks display in honour of Chinese New Year, using Chinese-made explosives and American-made hardware.

Viewed from another angle, however, the scene was nothing more than a bunch of guys doing a hard job in the bitter cold. With gusts sending the wind chill into double-digits below zero, Phil Grucci, who was overseeing the operation, was not going to expend too much energy finding deeper meaning in the situation.