Normalization and after: Relations with the United States
| Author | Ralph N. Clough |
| Date | 01 December 1979 |
| DOI | 10.1177/002070207903400408 |
| Published date | 01 December 1979 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
RALPH
N.
CLOUGH
Normalization
and
after:
relations with
the
United
States
When
President Jimmy
Carter
took
office
in
January
1977,
rela-
tions
between
the
United
States
and
the
People's
Republic
of
China
(PRC)
were
in the
doldrums. Watergate
had
dashed President
Nixon's
hope
of
establishing full
diplomatic relations with
the
PRC
during
his
presidency
and
interim
President
Gerald
Ford
had
hes-
itated
to tackle
so
contentious
an
issue
until
he
could
be
confirmed
in
office
by
the
presidential
elections
of
November
1976.
The
eu-
phoria
that
had
blossomed
among Americans following the
Nixon
visit
to
China
had
faded.
Two-way
trade,
which
had
jumped
from
practically
nothing in
1971
to
nearly
$i
billion
in
1974,
slumped
to
$336
million
in
1976,
far
below
the
booming trade with
Taiwan,
which
topped
$4.8
billion
that
year.
The
liaison
offices,
established
in
the
two
capitals
in
1973,
met
the
minimum
needs
for
diplomatic
relations
and
their
replacement
by
full-fledged
embassies
did
not
seem
urgent
to
most
Americans.
Moreover,
conditions
within
China
counselled
caution.
In
Jan-
uary
1977
the
new
ruling
group
in Beijing
had held
power
for
only
three
months
and
its
future
was
uncertain.
Although
the
downfall
of
the
Gang
of
Four
in
the
power
struggle
following
Mao's
death
indicated
a swing
away
from
Maoist
radicalism
toward
more prag-
matic
policies,
no
one
could
predict
with
confidence
that
the
regime
would
be
able
to
avoid
further
divisive
political
struggles.
Wall
A
former
foreign
service
officer
who
served
as
a
member
of
the
State
Department's
Policy
Planning
Council,
the
author
is
a
fellow
at
the
Woodrow Wilson
Interna-
tional
Center
for
Scholars,
Washington,
Dc.
Among
his
books
are
East
Asia
and
U.S.
Security
and
Island China.
This
article
appears simultaneously in
German
in
Europa-Archiv,
no
20
(so
Octo-
ber
1979).
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