Contemporary U.S.

-China
Relations
(5) China and the United States in the Cold War
Warren Cohen, US, China and the Cold War in Asia,1949-1979

American’s perceptions of China changed with the Cold War. While they first view the nation’s
communism as dangerous, they then judged nothing of it.
 Really undermining the power of China.

Main points:
- Ideological gulf between the communist regime in China under Mao Zedong and the
capitalist democracy of the United States. This ideological divide fueled suspicion and
hostility, leading to a series of confrontations and proxy conflicts across Asia.
- The Korean War serves as a pivotal moment in Sino-American relations, with China's
intervention on behalf of North Korea challenging American dominance in the region. This
conflict underscored the strategic importance of Asia in the broader Cold War struggle and
set the stage for decades of rivalry and competition.
- Taiwan emerges as a major flashpoint in Sino-American relations, with the United States'
commitment to Taiwan's defense complicating efforts to normalize relations with Beijing.
The Taiwan Strait Crisis of 1958 and subsequent tensions over Taiwan's status further
strained bilateral ties.
- Despite these tensions, moments of diplomatic détente, particularly in the early 1970s.
Secret negotiations and clandestine diplomacy, culminating in President Nixon's historic
visit to Beijing in 1972, paved the way for the normalization of relations
- Pragmatic considerations that drove this diplomatic breakthrough, including the shared
desire to counterbalance the Soviet Union and stabilize the security environment in Asia.
The Shanghai Communique, issued during Nixon's visit, reflected a willingness on both
sides to set aside ideological differences in pursuit of mutual interests.

Robert J. McMahon: The Cold War in Asia…, pp.314 327

American policymakers grievously misread Soviet and Chinese Communist intentions and
capabilities with regard to Korea.
 Fallacious assumption led not only to American military intervention in the Korean peninsula
but also brought renewed U.S. intervention in the Chinese civil war.
Similarly, the administration made a monumental miscalculation of Chinese Communist
intentions and capabilities. The Chinese counterattack in the Korean War could have been
avoided if only the U.S. would have taken Beijing’s numerous warnings seriously.
 Deconstructing the idea of the U.S. as a benevolent, altruistic occupier. The “reverse course”
in U.S. occupation policy was spurred by a combination of strategic and economic interests
(monetary, national security needs

Lowell Dittmer: The Strategic Triangle. Chat-GPT Produced

Key Points:
- Game-theoretical examination of the dynamics between the United States, China, and the
Soviet Union during the Cold War. Analyze strategic interactions and decision-making
processes of the 3 major powers, shedding light on the complexities of their triangular
relationship.
 - Strategic triangle: interdependent relationships among the three actors. Dittmer
emphasizes the importance of understanding the strategic calculations and incentives of
each player in shaping the overall balance of power and conflict dynamics in the
international system.
- Using game theory as a framework, Dittmer models the strategic interactions between the
United States, China, and the Soviet Union as a series of strategic games.
 These games involve strategic choices made by each player, taking into account the
preferences, capabilities, and expectations of the other two players.
- Strategic stability: situation where the actions of one player do not provoke destabilizing
responses from the other players. Achieving strategic stability in the context of the
strategic triangle requires a delicate balance of power and mutual deterrence among the
three actors.
- Several factors that influence the strategic calculations of the United States, China, and the
Soviet Union: military capabilities, ideological considerations, alliance commitments, and
perceptions of threat and opportunity.
- Various scenarios and outcomes resulting from different configurations of power and
strategic choices by the three actors. Dittmer analyzes the implications of these scenarios
for the stability of the international system and the prospects for conflict or cooperation
among the major powers.
- Role of strategic alliances in shaping the dynamics of the strategic triangle. The U.S.’
alliances with Western Europe and Japan, China's alliance with the Soviet Union, and the
Soviet Union's alliances with Eastern Europe all influence the strategic calculations of the
major powers and contribute to the overall balance of power in the international system.
- Impact of nuclear weapons on the strategic calculus of the major powers. The development
and proliferation of nuclear weapons during the Cold War era added a new dimension of
complexity to the strategic triangle, introducing the possibility of mutually assured
destruction and raising the stakes of any potential conflict between the major powers.
- Importance of understanding the underlying motivations and strategic calculations of the
major powers in order to anticipate their behavior and assess the prospects for stability or
conflict in the international system.
 By employing game theory as a tool for analysis, Dittmer provides a systematic
framework for studying the dynamics of the strategic triangle and its implications for
international relations during the Cold War era.
 Insights into the complexities of the interactions between the U.S., China, and the Soviet
Union during the Cold War. By employing game theory as a framework for analysis, Dittmer
sheds light on the strategic calculations and incentives of the major powers, providing a deeper
understanding of the dynamics shaping the international system.

Lecture: China and the U.S. in the Cold War (1950-1990)

Introduction
 American containment against China
 Korean War as a pivotal moment
 Confrontation policy before the Vietnam War
 No diplomatic ties but still talks going on
 Strategic triangle between U.S., Soviet Union and China
 Since the beginning of the PRC, the Soviet Union has been playing an important role in
Sino-American relations.
 China starting its opening reforms in 1978 under Deng Xiaoping. Opening and reform
period; fundamental change within China.
 Start of the engagement policy (early 1980s).

The Korean War

  The unexpected war? At first, started as a civil war within Korea but quickly became about
the U.S. and China.
- China: Mao Zedong visiting Moscow. Debates about whether Mao would be a good
communist leader for China. Economic recovery and wanting to liberate Taiwan
 Clearly not preparing a war against the U.S.
- U.S.: the defense chain. American policy decisions showcase that they were caught off
guard.
 From both sides, the Korean war was unexpected.
 Why was the U.S. involved directly?
- Evaluation on the background: the Cold War mentality
- Evaluation of the consequences: the domino effect
 Why was China involved directly?
- The soviet factor
- National security
- Internationalism
 A (typical) limited war
- The scope:
o The five campaigns: October 1950-June 1951. Not all Chinese leaders supported
the decision to support NK.
o Fight and talk: June 1951-June 1953
- The weapons

The Cold War Thinking

 Bi-polar group thinking
 Ideological competition: black and white
 Zero-sum game
 Arms race and military deterrence
 Parallel economic blocks: don’t trade with your enemy

Consequences of Korean War

 For China:
- Human and material loss
- Taiwan and re-unification
- Economic recovery
- Anti-Americanism
 For America:
- Human and economic costs
- McCarthyism
- Enlarged power of the republican government
 For China-U.S. relations:
- The containment policies and counter measures
- Taiwan and Tibet
- Strengthened alliances

The Containment
 Politically: the UN exclusion
 Economic: the embargos. China suffering from economic sanctions.
 Military: the alliances/bases in Asia
 The support to Tibetan separatism: Dalai Lama

U.S. and China-Soviet Split

 The Soviet factor has been the defining one in China-U.S. relations during the Cold War
years. One major American policy goal on China was to promote China-Soviet relations
  X
 America’s role in China-Soviet split the wedging policies: Acheson and Dulles Chinese and
Soviet understanding of U.S. power and their policy choices
 Failure to be benefited from China-Soviet split domestic politics in both countries to keep
the door ajar?
- Cuba crisis and China-India war
- Vietnam War

The Strategic Triangle

 The rising Soviet threat to China and America in late 1960s: the Nixon doctrine
 The amounting pressure on U.S. government to end Vietnam War
 Kissinger’s secret diplomacy and Nixon’s visit 1971-72: the week changed the world
 The strategic triangle in 1970s and difference in Chinese and American approaches
 The end of the triangle in early 1980s

Evolution of the Strategic Triangle

 1971-1972: stable marriage between China and U.S.
 1972-1974; romantic triangle with America in the pivot
 1974-1978: China out of U.S.-USSR marriage?
 1979-1982: Chinese-American marriage again
 1982-1989: Romantic triangle with China in the pivot? Wasn’t China benefited from the
Cold War?

Presentation

The Cold War and China

 X

Origins of U.S. “Containment Policy” and its Implications on China

 George F. Kennan
 Harry S. Truman
 George C. Marshall
 Dean Acheson

China Becoming a Prominent Player

 Geopolitical concerns and defending ideology

Reflection on the Strategic Triangle Model

 The strategic triangle model focuses on the system level analysis
 Factors at the