NEWS ANALYSIS: "In China, Blackstone Stirs Up Uncertainty," by Keith Bradsher and Joseph Kahn, New York Times, 29 May 2007, p. C1.

Many reasons for China to invest in Blackstone, but the most obvious to me is they want serious advocates on its behalf located within the U.S. financial industry.

Chu Shulong, the deputy director of the Institute of International Strategy and Development at Tsinghua University in Beijing, said that Chinese companies and the Chinese government had only begun to figure out how money influences policy in Washington. He doubted that the Blackstone deal would be used effectively for political purposes.

Japanese, South Korean and Taiwanese companies are all much more adept at influencing debates in Washington, he said, adding, "The Chinese voice is still very weak."

True, but you have to crawl before you can walk.

Blackstone will be a learning experience. What it will yield is a smarter China for the next go-around.

And that's all it's really required to do.