] The director of the U.S. Agency for International
] Development, Andrew Natsios, has warned that the Chinese
] government faces "serious internal strains" as a result
] of a combination of growing income disparities, ethnic
] tension and authoritarian rule.
]
] .
]
] In an interview ahead of meeting other senior development
] officials in Paris this week, Natsios stopped short of
] referring to China as a "fragile state," a term used for
] countries close to or in crisis, and most recently
] associated with such nations as Afghanistan, Iraq and the
] Sudan.