Looks like Chinese and US telco’s will do what our governments can’t: establish an undeniable bond which is stronger than, uh, glass. Ok, we have that. Nevertheless, work began this week in China on a 18,000-km (11,184-mile) fiber-optic cable between the coastal city of Qingdao and Nedonna Beach, Oregon. Existing cables between China and the US run through Japan. The new link is designed to support 62 million simultaneous calls while handling the anticipated growth from Internet video and e-commerce. With any luck, they’ll meet the July target ahead of the Beijing Olympics which starts in August 2008.