How The SinoAmerican Relationship Improved In 70S

How The Sino-American Relationship Improved In 70S Essay, Research Paper

I. Introduction

The American President Nixon’s historic trip to China in February 1972 marked the beginning of a new era in Sino-American relations. For the first time since 1949, the two countries established high-level official contacts and transformed their relationship from confrontation to collaboration. Over the following twenty years, however, U.S.-China relations have experienced repeated cycles of progress, stalemate, and crisis, with the events in Tiananmen Square in June 1989 the most recent and disruptive example.

Indeed, although relations between the two countries are greatly more extensive today than they were twenty years ago, they remain highly problematic. Yet the obstacles are mainly base on ideology, state interest and international climate. This can especially shown in disputes on Human Rights, Taiwan and trade relationship. This paper will first give some historical background. Afterward, due to the limit and the intensity of this paper, only matters on human rights as major example will be given a more detailed description and analysis. To conclude, I’ll try to trace out the view how American government treat the Sino-American relationship in a form of historical progression and give further possible questions in different aspects with the prediction and suggestion to them.

II. Content

Historical progression is used because Sino-American relationship is unlike mostly of other China’s foreign partner, but progressive no matter forward or backward all the time. And now we are going to trace how the America deal with the problems raised and history can help find the trend how they change the way used to deal with relationship in between.

Since 1949 to now, from the international climate and decision-maker dimension, there can be divided into 3 progressive states.

From 1949 to 1969, it is the period of ideological conflict. The international environment, especially the occurrence of Korean War and the movement of the American Seventh Fleet into the Taiwan Strait caused the conflicts between the 2 different ideologies become more serious. In the battlefield in Korea, the two nations even act as enemies. Although in the early 60s President John Kennedy considered open a dialogue with China but China and her leader’s increasingly anti-imperialist rhetoric caused US’s initiative to failure. To make a summary of this period, movement towards better relationship made little progression and there had no way to negotiate, although there was chance, for there was too many ‘concrete’ actions like the later Vietnam War to prohibit.

The second period was from 1968 to 1989 and is so-called the normalization of the two nation. Since the Soviet Union invade the Czechislovakia, China’s leader Mao realized the end of isolation and gave a signal of reopen of dialogue with Washington. The American President Nixon read the signals right and soon the two nations become strategic partners, after the casting of the Nixon’s historical visit to China. This time, from the active role and quick action played by the America in the rebuild of friendship we may see the American values this relationship high and should be beneficial for them at least.

The content of rebuild of formal relationship was in 1979 and mainly described as a form that the United States and the People’s Republic of China had agreed to recognize each other1 and to establish diplomatic relations as of January 1, 1979. The America recognized the Government of the Communist China as the sole legal Government of China. Within this context, the people of the United States will maintain cultural, commercial, and other unofficial relations with the people of Taiwan. Further later, the two nation reaffirm2 the principle agreed on by the two side once again that (1) Both of them wish to reduce the danger of international military conflict. (2) Neither should seek hegemony in the Asia-Pacific region or in any other region of the world and each is opposed to efforts by any other country or group of countries to establish such hegemony (3) Neither is prepared to negotiate on behalf of any third party or to enter into agreements or understandings with the other directed at other states. (4) The Government of the United States of America acknowledges the Chinese position that there is but one China and Taiwan is part of China. (5) Both believe that normalization of Sino-American relations is not only in the interest of the Chinese and American peoples but also contributes to the cause of peace in Asia and the world.

These agreements, on the other hand, had clearly shown that the effort the American made. But it also quoted out a long discussing problem: Taiwan.

The question of United States arms sales to Taiwan was not settled in the course of negotiations between the two countries on establishing diplomatic relation. The two sides held different positions, and the Chinese side stated that it would raise the issue again following normalization. Recognizing that this issue would seriously harm the development of United States-China relations, they have held further discussions on it, during and since the meetings between President Ronald Reagan and Premier Zhao Ziyang and between Secretary of State Alexander M. Haig, Jr., and Vice Premier and Foreign Minister Huang Hu