Hu Jintao, the Chinese president, is enjoying the red-carpet treatment in Washington DC against a backdrop of increasing tension between his country and the US.

As the two leaders meet, a number of US lawmakers are demanding again that China allow its currency to float against the dollar - arguing that a weak yuan is hurting US business.

But is China really listening? Its global expansion takes in every corner of the globe. And its influence is growing. Will this be China's century? Will the US have to live in China's shadow?

Inside Story, with presenter David Foster, discusses with guests Simon Shen, an associate professor of international relations at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Mohan Guruswamy, a senior fellow with the Atlantic Council's South Asia Centre in New Delhi, and Steven Ekovish, a professor at the American University of Paris.

This episode of Inside Story aired from Wednesday, January 19, 2010.