China-U.S. Relations: Current Issues and Implications for U.S. Policy. Updated December 21, 2007

摘要

U.S.-China relations have been remarkably smooth since late 2001, although there are signs that U.S. policy toward China is now subject to competing reassessments. State Department officials in 2005 unveiled what they said was a new framework for the relationship -- with the United States willing to work cooperatively with a nondemocratic China while encouraging Beijing to become a 'responsible stakeholder' in the global system. U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson in December 2006 established a U.S.-China Strategic Economic Dialogue with Beijing. But other U.S. policy makers have adopted tougher stances on issues involving China and U.S.-China relations, concerned about the impact of the PRC's strong economic growth and a more assertive international diplomacy. Another matter of growing concern is China's increasing global 'reach' and the consequences that expanding PRC international influence has for U.S. interests. To feed its appetite for resources, China has been steadily signing trade agreements, oil and gas contracts, scientific cooperation agreements, and multilateral security arrangements with countries around the world, some of which are key U.S. allies. Taiwan, which China considers a 'renegade province,' remains the most sensitive issue the two countries face and the one many observers fear could lead to Sino-U.S. conflict. Much U.S. concern about China appears driven by security calculations in Congress and at the Pentagon, where officials question the motivations behind China's expanding military budget and its development of anti-satellite systems. Bilateral economic and trade issues also are growing matters of concern. U.S. officials and lawmakers criticize China's massive bilateral trade surplus, its failure to halt piracy of U.S. intellectual property rights, and its continued constraints on currency valuation. More recently, allegations about the quality of Chinese imports have raised growing concerns about the PRC's poor product safety record.