US China Policy: Trouble Hedging out East
By Justin Hempson-Jones
30 Jan 2006
Whether the United States should ‘engage’ or ‘contain’ a rising China has been a central debate in the formulation of US China policy since the end of the Cold War. Both camps appear to be proposing mutually-exclusive policies, but in practice the United States has used elements from each to formulate a consistent strategy. ‘The powerful exact what they can, and the weak grant what they must’ is a maxim that has often been taken for granted in the conduct of international relations, yet when it comes to US dealings with China, it has not played out entirely as predicted. In an interdependent world, the lone superpower has had its hands tied by prevailing domestic and international considerations: it, too, has had to grant what it must. That is why, barring an upset to the regional status quo, the United States will continue to implement a China policy that is run on the twin tracks of economic engagement and strategic containment.
30 Jan 2006
Whether the United States should ‘engage’ or ‘contain’ a rising China has been a central debate in the formulation of US China policy since the end of the Cold War. Both camps appear to be proposing mutually-exclusive policies, but in practice the United States has used elements from each to formulate a consistent strategy. ‘The powerful exact what they can, and the weak grant what they must’ is a maxim that has often been taken for granted in the conduct of international relations, yet when it comes to US dealings with China, it has not played out entirely as predicted. In an interdependent world, the lone superpower has had its hands tied by prevailing domestic and international considerations: it, too, has had to grant what it must. That is why, barring an upset to the regional status quo, the United States will continue to implement a China policy that is run on the twin tracks of economic engagement and strategic containment.
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