By Tom Ryan, Kansas City Star Reader Advisory Panel

I occurred to me this weekend, that with the G20 this week and all the build-up, to try and understand the “big idea” views of the Biggies…France, Russia, US, UK, China…China? Not a great deal of ink on China lately, except for the chicken feet story.

Maybe our news agencies are secretly calling for more journalists in Afghanistan like McChrystal’s call for troops. But China is tougher duty than war zones. Ask anyone who’s traveled there. It’s exhausting, really. The alien cultures and languages may put this in the “just too hard to do and translate category”. Maybe the Pulitzer Promises are dim for pieces of China? But in thinking about it, it makes a great deal of sense. Like Africa, China is not a place for news that sells well.

Despite the lack of potential for journalistic profit and prizes, China seems today to be the bedrock of the world’s economy. They are our big lender while we’re trying to regain our reputation as the world’s “big spender”. Given their lending power, we should be at least wishing them well and rooting for them. Unfortunately, we’ve gotten into a petty family feud about tires and chicken feet recently.

Other countries have had big build-up for the G20…missile shields or rather none…Troop build-ups….Sarkozy’s tirade about banker bonuses…the Prime Minister’s call for a UN summit on Afghanistan. Russian smiles all around. But China? Quietly absent from the limelight and probably loving it.

Or maybe it’s because they have better things to do? Like making money.