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...

This book considers Chinese foreign policy and China's future role in world affairs in the context of the country's recent past. Robert Sutter shows that although it appears to be in U.S. interests for post-Mao leaders to continue moving toward international norms, a post-Deng leadership backed by growing economic and military power and reflecting profound changes in China's economy and society could move in markedly different directions. Most foreign powers appear willing to accommodate China, avoiding actions that could prompt a sharp shift in Chinese foreign policy, but Sutter argues that...