U.S. Policy Towards Northeast China, 1945-1949

Since the late 19th century, Northeast China had become a focus of contest of Western capitalist countries and the imperialist powers in China, and once was alluded to as"Asian Balkan". Due to its special strategic position, Northeast China continually attracted the U. S. attention. U. S. Open Door Policy with China was derived from Northeast China and also ceased there. This study begins with the proposal of Northeast China issue in the several Big-Nation meetings in late WWII, and discusses and analyzes the U.S. policy towards Northeast China, which would be put in the background of the U. S. policy towards China and the Far East, even the U.S. Global Strategy.Except for the Introduction (Chapter 1) and the Conclusion, this thesis contains four parts, and all of them focus on the U.S. policy towards Northeast China between 1945 and 1949.Chapter 2 reviews the origins of the U. S. policy towards Northeast China and the course of its evolution. In 1899, the U.S. Secretary of State John Hay proposed an"Open Door"policy in China. Its initial motivation was to prevent Russia from establishing a monopoly in Northeast China. In the late 19th and early 20th century, the U. S. attention to Northeast China mainly focused on economic interests. Although the U. S. participated in the struggle in Northeast China between Russia and Japan before 1931, its diplomatic focus was on Europe instead of the Far East. By 1931,"9.18"Incident broke out, the U. S. carried out"Non-Recognition Policy"and tried to appease Japanese aggressor together with other western countries. The contest of great powers in Northeast China ended in Japan's monopoly. This thesis analyzes the reasons and backgrounds of the U. S. policy's evolutions by probing into both the U. S. Government and the Soviet Union Government policies towards Northeast China in their respective post-war plans in Cairo, Teheran and Yalta Conferences in the late WWII. In order to achieve its goal in wartime, the U. S. sacrificed the Chinese rights in Northeast to strive the Soviet entering the war against Japan. Yalta Agreement erected the preeminent interests of Soviet Union in Northeast China, which was contradictory to Open Door Policy and hindered the U. S. achieving its post-war objections in East Asia.Chapter 3 analyzes the U. S. policy toward Northeast China from the end of the war to the beginning of the Chinese Civil War. After the WWII ended, the situation of Northeast China was complicated. The U. S. - Soviet global rivalry waged in Northeast China firstly. The U. S. tried to break with Yalta agreement. It aided Kuomintang trooping to Northeast China, reopened the American consulates in the big cities of Northeast China, and sent General Marshall to China to mediate the conflict between Kuomintang and Chinese Communist. This Chapter also explores the interaction between the United States and the Soviet Union policies towards Northeast China. The Truman Administration always considered its strategy to the Soviet Union when it formulated its Northeast China policy. American concern and claim for Northeast China also strived the Soviet competing for it. The U. S. and the Soviet Union waged a political, economic and diplomatic war on Northeast China through supporting Kuomintang and Communist respectively. The increasingly fierce conflict between Kuomintang and Communist not only made it difficult to achieve the American post-war China policy aiming a united, steady China and complying with American interests in East Asia, but also made the U. S. up to the chin to Chinese Affairs.Chapter 4 discusses the U. S. policy towards Northeast China during the Chinese Civil War. The mediation of Marshall ended with a failure. A full-scale war between Kuomintang and Communist broke out. Against a background of global cold war, the contest in Northeast between Kuomintang and Communist cannot help but be interlaced with the competition between the U. S. and the Soviet Union. Chinese Civil War was subordinated to the cold war system and became a part of cold war. The U. S. Government never viewed Chinese Communist as an independent political organization, but a tool of the Soviet policy towards China. It was bound to deepen the cold war crisis. Ultimately, the U. S. established an"Aiding Chiang Kai-shek and Anti-Communist"policy and intervened in Chinese Civil War. In addition, the U. S. had a direct confrontation with the Soviet Union on Lushun and Dalian problem, and obtained information about the Soviet Union through espionage.Chapter 5 has a discussion on the U. S. policy towards Northeast China after the Chinese Communist won the civil war in Northeast. During this period, the U. S. policy was ambiguous and indecisive. Under the circumstances of global cold war, the U. S. Government carried out Containment Policy to the communist world. In the wake of the victory of Chinese Communist, Truman administration drew up"the wedge strategy"which wanted to accept an anti-Soviet Communist China. At the same time, the United States changed its severe Japanese economic policy to rehabilitation, and encouraged the trade between Japan and Northeast China. The goal of the policies was bringing about a split between Chinese Communist and the Soviet Union through giving Chinese Communist economic benefits. These actions no doubt made a great impact on Containment Policy. But under the background of cold war, neither the United States nor Chinese Communist could break away from their mutual hostility. The Ward Case which happened in Shenyang soon after the liberation of whole Northeast China affected the Sino-American relation and the U. S. policy towards China greatly. Hereafter, Chinese Communist adopted"Lean to One-side"foreign policy and a guideline of forcing American and other western diplomats to leave China. New China closed its door to the American. The American had to leave China gloomily.The U. S. policy towards Northeast China from 1945 to 1949 was closely related to its global strategy and policy towards whole China. American policy makers always took account of the Soviet, paid close attention to Soviet intention and pondered the relation between Chinese Communist and the Soviet Union when they considered China issues. As the Cold War was in full swing, the cooperative and competitive Yalta system in the post-war early stage was increasingly moving towards cold war system which was complete confrontation between the U. S. and the Soviet Union. In China, Kuomintang was defeated; China was going into the Soviet group. Containment to China was bound to become a part of the U. S. containment to Communism in the whole world. By the end of 1949, Northeast Asia international pattern in Cold War era had basically established. The American attitude and standpoint on Northeast China reflected the objectives of its Open Door Policy. In the post-war period, most of China had become the U. S. sphere of influence except Northeast. Although the U. S. made a deal with the Soviet Union and promised"the preeminent interests of Soviet Union in Northeast China", it insisted a guarantee of Open Door in Northeast China from Stalin. The victory of Chinese Communist in autumn of 1948 was undoubtedly a crushing blow to American traditional Open Door Policy in China. Because the U. S. Government was unwilling to admit New China and decided"waiting for the dust to settle", the door of New China certainly closed to American.