CHUS #10. US–China Engagement: A Historical Assessment
Monday, January 6, 2025: 9:00 AM-10:30 AM
New York Hilton, East Room
Session Organizer: Mao Lin, Georgia Southern University
Chair(s):
Dan Du, University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Papers:
Chinese Propaganda through American Eyes, 1949 to the Present
Yi Ren, University of Arkansas at Little Rock
Language and Empire: Chinese Language Programs in the US from the Late 19th Century to the Present
Shuhua Fan, University of Scranton
US–China Engagement in the Long 1970s
Mao Lin, Georgia Southern University
From Engagement to Decoupling: US–China Relations since the End of the Cold War
Tao Wang, Iowa State University
Comment: Dan Du, University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Session Abstract:
In recent years, the U.S.-China relationship has experienced its most daunting challenges since the normalization of relations between the two nations in the 1970s. While both Beijing and Washington publicly deny the coming of a second Cold War, strategic competition is now the frame through which the U.S. government views its relationship with China. As a result, the so-called US-China engagement is now widely regarded as a failed history. However, the history of US-China engagement should be assessed in a more nuanced and balanced manner despite the current political situation. Dr. Yi Ren’s paper examines how Americans—intellectuals, politicians, and the general public—have understood and interpreted Chinese propaganda directed at its own people since 1949. Dr. Shuhua Fan’s paper discusses how the Chinese language programs have developed in the US since the late 19th century and their impact on US-China engagement. Dr. Mao Lin’s paper analyzes how the US-China engagement was developed from the late 1960 to the late 1970s and how it served America’s strategic interests. Dr. Tao Wang’s paper examines the post-Cold War US-China relations by focusing on structural changes and the role of personalities. The panel endeavors to present some timely yet historicized assessments of the US-China engagement. (202 words)
Paper Abstracts:
Chinese Propaganda through American Eyes, 1949 to the Present
Yi Ren, University of Arkansas at Little Rock
The significance of propaganda to the Communist China cannot be overstated. It is a critical tool for the Chinese Communist Party to realize its organization and governance. It permeates the daily lives of the Chinese people. This paper studies how Americans—intellectuals, politicians, and the general public—have understood and interpreted Chinese propaganda directed at its own people.
Specifically, this paper traces the evolution of American perceptions of Chinese propaganda across three periods: from the establishment of the People’s Republic of China to the Sino-American rapprochement, from the rapprochement to 1989, and from 1989 to the present. During the Mao era, American interpretation of Chinese propaganda mainly viewed it as a mechanism for communist indoctrination, which mirrored the intense Cold War animosities. The thawing of Sino-American relations introduced a more complex interpretation. American politicians and intellectuals adopted a cautiously optimistic stance towards engagement, perceiving Chinese propaganda as a fusion of ideological zeal and a pragmatic modernization agenda. The period after the Tiananmen Square Protests has been characterized by a profound transformation in Chinese propaganda techniques. The Party leveraged advanced technology and global narratives to conduct its propaganda work. This shift has challenged American perceptions, necessitating a critical reassessment of the role and impact of propaganda in sustaining communist governance in China. This paper argues that the understanding of Americans’ perceptions of Chinese propaganda in different historical periods is crucial for grasping the intricacies of Sino-American relations and the global implications of China’s strategic propaganda approach.
Language and Empire: Chinese Language Programs in the U.S. from the Late 19th Century to the Present
Shuhua Fan, University of Scranton
This paper offers a macro-study of Chinese language programs in the U.S. from the late 19th century to today. Efforts to promote Chinese language started in the 1870s with the inauguration of Chinese class at Yale and Harvard and the establishment of an endowed professorship at the University of California-Berkeley. These pioneering programs greatly expanded in parallel with the U.S. rise as a global power with vital interests in Asia and an important relationship with China in the succeeding century and a half. In the second stage (the 1920s-early 1930s), Chinese language programs expanded with the rise/reorientation of private foundations toward fostering Asian/China studies following WWI. Examples include the Harvard-Yenching Institute, the China Institute in America, and the Institute of Pacific Relations. Subsequently, the Pacific War and the Cold War brought further momentum to Chinese language programs through direct involvement/funding from the U.S. government and the formation of the national security-industrial-academic complex, in addition to funding from private foundations. The decades since the early 1990s have witnessed more impressive expansion of Chinese language programs because of U.S. governmental funding for foreign languages critical to national interests, sponsorship from private sources, and the rise of Confucius Institutes (CI) funded by China to project soft power, an effort encountering strong resistance and failure in America.
Using primary and secondary sources, my paper uses case studies from each of the four historical periods to shed light on this macro history by showing the particular mix of motives/broader context (domestic and international), sponsorship, personalities, operation, and legacies. The paper argues that language serves imperial/national interests. Chinese language programs have interacted with the changing domestic and international context, which has enabled the U.S. to engage China via language programs in some of the early eras and to decouple China through the recent forced CI closure.
US-China Engagement in the Long 1970s
Mao Lin, Georgia Southern University
With the deterioration of US-China relations in recent years, America’s engagement policy toward China has been heavily criticized for failing to change China into a liberal democracy and turning Beijing into a peer competitor of Washington instead. However, a more balanced history of engagement shows that engagement has served American interests quite well. During the 1970s, American officials and the broader foreign policy public forged a new perception of China as a “frustrated modernizer.” The priority of China was not to spread communism abroad but to turn the country into a first-class industrial power. However, China failed to modernize under communism, with the Sino-Soviet split further threatening China’s national security. America’s engagement policy was conceived as a realistic response to those changes. Engagement successfully turned China into America’s tacit partner against the Soviet Union, helped Washington to end its war in Vietnam, moderated China’s radical foreign policy, and contributed to the end of the Cold War. While the desire to change China into a liberal democracy loomed large in the background, that desire was only pursued as a long-term goal and no American administration ever set a firm timetable to turn it into reality. A balanced assessment of engagement can help us to forge a realistic strategy by aligning means with ends. America must realize many of the factors that will shape China’s future are beyond American control. A more realistic goal for US China policy is to shape China’s choices so that it will abide by the rules-based international order with or without political reforms. Washington should consistently convince Beijing that America does not seek to contain China’s rise if China can truly become a responsible stakeholder.
From Engagement to Decoupling: US-China Relations since the End of the Cold War
Tao Wang, Iowa State University
How did China and the United States, the former allies against the Soviet Union in much of the 1970s and 1980s, end up in the current tensions? Who was responsible for the deterioration? How would the world’s most important bilateral relationship evolve in the future? This paper analyzes the evolution of US-China relations from engagement in the 1990s, to cooperation in the beginning of 21st century, and the current strategic competition. It examines both the structural changes and the role of personalities to reveal the dynamics of the relationship and help understand its future trajectory.
This study adopts a bilateral approach. It argues that while structural changes weakened the foundation of US-China cooperation, confrontation was not inevitable. Policy mattered and the current tension was created by leaders—their vision and ambition made a difference. For the same reason, a Thucydides’s Trap may be avoided, although the current tendency will continue and the situation may become worse in the near future.