China has opened the backdoor channel for assessing ties with US as Washington is "proactively making preparations for a conflict in the Taiwan Strait when it happens", reported The HK Post. Information trickled in about the visit to New York of a group of former Chinese officials in early November as part of the largest semi-official diplomatic initiative in Sino-America since the Covid outbreak. While both are ready to appreciate each other's position on bilateral issues, they are yet to see eye to eye on the Taiwan question. Prof Wu pointed out: "…from the standpoint of their strategic interests, they…