The following are editorial opinions from newspapers from around the world which may be of interest to Royal Gazette readers.

The Times of Trenton, New Jersey,–on the Gulf of Mexico oil spill

Sarah Palin gave the pot a vigorous stir recently with her comments about a lackadaisical response to the BP oil spill suffocating the Gulf of Mexico and the fragile ecosystems at its fringe.

The former vice presidential candidate, who made "Drill, baby, drill" into a Republican mantra, has criticised the Obama administration for not reacting more quickly and more forcefully to the environmental disaster.

She has also suggested that President Barack Obama has been reluctant to step in because of campaign contributions from the oil industry. In her inimitable locution, she has questioned whether "there's any connection there to President Obama taking so doggone long to get in there, to dive in there, and grasp the complexity and the potential tragedy that we are seeing here in the Gulf of Mexico."

The hypocrisy of that statement is nearly as thick as the viscous mass making landfall.

She need look no further than the Center for Responsive Politics to get an accurate account of the oil companies' political influence. In the presidential campaign of 2008, her running mate, John McCain, received more than twice as much money — $2.4 million — from the oil and gas industries as then-Sen. Obama, who was given $898,000. ...

As Obama deploys every means at his disposal to cap the well, he's calling for measures to better regulate an industry long left to its own devices. That would be an instance of the federal government — so disdained by Palin and the Tea Party for its meddling — in action.

China Daily, Beijing,–on the strategic and economic dialogue

It seems by now certain that the China-US Strategic and Economic Dialogue will not only serve as a high-level communication channel between Beijing and Washington, but that it also has strong potential to become a major forum for addressing regional and international woes. The gravity of Sino-US ties and their combined clout in the international arena indicate such expectations are well grounded.

Regarded as the most important bilateral relationship in the world, the ties are of far-reaching import, not only for themselves, but also for nations around the globe.

The world's biggest developing country and the largest developed nation have been held accountable by other nations each time the international community searched for solutions to such pressing issues as climate change, international governance and nuclear security.

It was, therefore, a case of keen political insight shown by leaders on both sides to forge the S&ED mechanism. Better communication and profound dialogue between decision-makers on both sides will cement mutual trust, build consensus and expand mutual understanding. The second round of the ongoing S&ED in Beijing has made much headway in this regard.

As long as Beijing and Washington heed each other's core interests and major concerns, the two will be able to handle disputes in a proper manner, and Sino-US ties will experience less volatile swings. ... Beijing and Washington may not be able to solve all their differences on these issues in a single meeting, but they certainly seem more confident about their ties and should hopefully see the bigger picture as far as their future relationship is concerned.