Yet Jiang faces extremely difficult tasks ahead. Hollywood has rallied around Tibet's cry for autonomy while Taiwan remains a tremendously sore spot in international relations. The legacy of Tiananmen Square has not worn out, as this week's protests have shown. Besides the three terrible Ts (Tibet, Taiwan and Tiananmen), China might have a fourth: Trade. The imbalance between China and the U.S. is about $40 billion, second only to the deficit between Japan and the U.S.

The biggest winner of the entire Jiang-Clinton summit may very well be Boeing--Jiang agreed to a $3 billion deal to buy 50 airplanes--which speaks volumes about the relationship between the two countries.

Economics will continue to dominate the relationship and that a few symbolic high-tech purchases will not make a dent in the trade deficit.

During the summit, China severed nuclear cooperation with Iran in order to improve relations with the United States. The commercial nuclear power contracts that China could make with the U.S. instead could be worth as much as $60 billion.

For Jiang, this state visit is crucial to his legitimization into world politics. Jiang could have avoided a potentially contentious speech at Harvard, but he has not backed down in the face of possible demonstrations. Filling his itinerary with visits to symbols of American's democratic values--including Thursday's trip to Philadelphia, home of the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall--Jiang seems to relish standing against the backdrop of freedom at each of his stops.

Whatever Jiang does in America will inevitably be compared to Deng's trip in 1979, when Deng was also trying to establish himself. Deng's defining moment was his donning of a 10-gallon hat in Texas. Could holding the Philadelphia Flyers' jersey with his name on the back be Jiang's moment?