United States security interests in China: beyond the China Card

Abstract

The relationship between the United States and the People's Republic of China is developing rapidly in the realm of military and security affairs. The thesis of this paper is that, although the Sino-American relationship has been founded upon a mutual interest in opposing the Soviet military threat, the long-term development of the relationship will depend on the extent to which the scope of mutual interests can be broadened and the many latent sources of tension between China and America alleviated. A broad definition of national security, encompassing political and economic as well as military factors, and an alternative conceptual framework for analyzing international politics are proposed for defining security interests. Security issues examined include the Soviet threat to China; the U.S. interest in the security of China; China's role in Soviet-American relations, cooperation on world order issues, and Asian security; and American interests in a military relationship with China, including naval operations