Beijing`s Strategies and Actions Toward Washington: Containment and Counter-Containment

Abstract

Since the collapse of the former Soviet Union, Beijing has become aware of the United States’ strategy of containment against it. As a result, Beijing’s primary goal in its relations with the United States has been breaking out from the latter’s containment. To achieve this end, Beijing has intensified its relations with Washington politically and economically, while cementing its relations with Asia-Pacific countries to prevent them from leaning closer to the United States. This strategy has so far achieved notable results. Presently, the realists in the United States who oppose efforts to isolate or contain mainland China have obviously won the upper hand in policymaking decisions regarding mainland Chinese affairs. Moreover Beijing-Washington relations have improved since the latter half of 1996, and mutual visits by Jiang Zemin and Bill Clinton will soon take place.