Making China Policy: Lessons from the Bush and Clinton Administrations

This volume evaluates the formation and execution of US policy towards China and Taiwan during the crucial 12 years of the Bush and Clinton administrations. It explores the increasingly complex environment facing policy makers in the wake of the tragic events of Tiananmen, paticularly the growing role played by interest group lobbies, media commentary and Congress. All these influences combined to dismantle the bipartisan agreement that had supported positive relations with Beijing, replacing it with a more politicized and pluralized policy arena. The authors document how, within this new context, the Bush and Clinton administrations struggled to forge consensus, implement China policies and maintain a modicum of relations. The study focuses systematically on the range of domestic influences, but also considers less obvious but vital roles played by European and Asian nations, as well as Taiwan and China Itself.