Sino-American interactions on space exploration during the early cold war period have attracted little attention from both Chinese and American scholars. Nevertheless, early cold war space exploration is an important issue, in that it discloses the features and rationales of US policy towards China within the field of advanced technology systems, and more broadly offers a key to understanding the complicated relationship between China and the United States during the early cold war. Considering the sharp rivalry that existed between the two states, China’s early space exploration provides an unique angle to look at the special modes of interaction between China and the United States in the arena of non-official ties at that time.It is the purpose of this paper to examine the “American Factor” in China’s space policy decision-making, and to illustrate the tendencies of US cold war policy toward China—largely characterized by overreactions to China’s capabilities—by presenting facts about China’s space program based on archival research, and the US government’s policies for coping with what it perceived to be China’s intentions and capacities. At the same time, this paper also endeavors to develop a better understanding of the political, military, ideological, and even psychological features of the cold war, and its long-term effect on Sino-American relations.
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