The China Quandary

Although the United States has established formal diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China (PRC), achieving major advances in economic and cultural relations, it continues to be bedevilled by serious dilemmas regarding such issues as future relations with Taiwan, U.S.-PRC military ties, the extent and type of U.S. aid to China, and the need for secrecy in U.S. China policy versus traditional American demands for "open" diplomacy. U.S. scholars have been clear about the international factors influencing current U.S.-PRC relations; however, the domestic political factors that have contributed in a major way to the creation of the dilemmas we face in formulating China policy today remain poorly understood. This book concentrates on these domestic determinants of recent U.S. China policy. Pointing to the compromises and contradictions in policy choices made by leaders who have sharply differing conceptions of the goals of policy and their appropriate implementation, Dr. Sutter draws on a wide array of recent U.S. government publications and more than one hundred interviews with officials of the Carter and Reagan administrations and Congress to examine differences in views, divergencies in policy approaches, and the confusion that results. He specifically treats key issues such as the Taiwan Relations Act and possible U.S. arms sales to China, as well as summarizing and assessing domestic and foreign policy interests of the United States in relation to China and offering policy options for the problems that lie ahead.