China’s Korean Policy Within the Framework of Anti-Hegemonism: 1969-1988

Abstract

The dissertation is divided into six chapters, set against the backdrop of a discussion of China`s strategy for a more promising national security policy in response to Soviet expansionism. Chapter One investigates the historical background that has linked China and Korea, and elaborates on two main themes. First, Korea has always been regarded as falling within China`s sphere of interest. Secondly, China`s Korean policy since the late nineteenth century has been deflected by other major powers, and its influence has often been restricted and damaged. Chapter Two is primarily concerned with exploring the dynamic evolution of Sino-DPRK relations since the late 1940s. This chapter may help us to see how China has vacillated between moral commitments and pragmatic concerns. Chapter Three will begin by identifying the characteristics of the PRC`s anti-hegemonism foreign policy, and will examine how China applies that idea into world politics. This is a major chapter, for it does not merely uncover the pattern of Sino-Soviet conflict, but also examines in detail its impact upon China`s Korean policy. Chapter Four goes on to reveal that China, though it has specific security and strategic interests, has no choice but to consider the presence of the other three major Asian powers, i.e., Japan, the United States, and the Soviet Union. This chapter also focuses on the attitudes of those major powers and their interactions with China over Korean affairs.Chapter Five tries to sort out some recent developments in Sino-Korean, as well as inter-Korean, relations underlined by China`s newly adopted "independent foreign policy." I attempt to prove that Beijing`s "independent foreign policy" is still essentially within a framework of an anti-hegemonism policy based on a issue-by-issue approach.The conclusion tries to predict, based on China`s posture in Korean affairs, through the late 1980s, Beijing`s foreign policy and its implications for the stability and security of East Asia.