And of course the American media ruled out terrorism long before the flames were out, al la AA587 & TWA800, among other events. However, rest assured that if Beijing learns it was mu-slime terrorists, they won't worry about the feelings of Arabs when pay-back time comes. This is Hu Jintou's (sp?) first test as a new leader.
Yes. Oooo, I would not want to be on the receiving end of a PLA blitzkrieg, armed only with a Kalishnikov and a couple grenades, inside of China's own borders. They may not be any match for the U.S., India or even Taiwan, yet, but in their own country, they're the baddest mother----ers around. They, uh, won't be giving a damn about offending Islamic sensitivities, and I'd expect their Muslim population will drop to essentially zero, in a matter of hours. Which is why the jihadists tend to leave them the hell alone.
What little you know about the Chinese communists.
They go to great pains to ally themselves and be friendly with Iran, Iraq and even the Taliban before 911. And the Sudan especially.
They sell weapons, missiles, nuke know-how and equipment, fiber optic networks that can be used as air defense as well (this to Iraq and the Taliban to name two).
The lives or property of the Chinese people are not of major importance to the communist rulers. Threat to their rule is what matters and a fire on an oiler tanker isn't that(no matter who did it, if it were terrorism).