Sino-American Ambassadorial Talks (1955-1958)

During the Cold War, China and the United Stated held 136 talks on the ambassadorial level, which lasted for 15 years. In those years dominated by separation and hostility, the Chinese-American ambassadorial talks represented the only official channel of communication between the two countries without formal diplomatic relationship. Although the 15-year talks did not bring about resolutions to any major issues, they played a positive role in relaxing the tension between the two countries. This role was clearly indicated in the two Taiwan Straits crises in the 1950s. Adopting a broader perspective associated with the study of Cold War international history, this dissertation begins with reviewing and analyzing the views by American academics, as well as the interpretations by the Chinese government and Chinese scholars. On the basis of extensively using Chinese and American documentary sources, this dissertation aims to provide a comprehensive and systematic study of the Chinese-American ambassadorial talks in the 1950s. In addition to offering comprehensive analyses of the background, causes, and process of the talks, as well as the main changes in China's and America's policies and the reasons leading to them, this dissertation highlights Beijing's and Washington's motivations for waging the talks, the talks' roles in different stages of the Taiwan Straits crises, China's and America's decisionmaking structures and institutions, and the impacts of the talks upon future changes in Chinese-American relations during the Cold War. With the hope of enriching the research on the subject, this dissertation intends to bring about a better understanding of the development of Chinese-American relations through "learning from history."This dissertation is composed of introduction, four chapters, conclusion, and a bibliography. The discussion is carried out basically following a chronological order. The introduction states the significance of this study, reviews the existing literature on the subject, depicts the main ideas and contents of the study by emphasizing some of its new findings, and summarizes the archival and other sources that this study has used.The first chapter discusses the cultural differences underlying the negotiation styles, as well as the ideological conflict, between China and the United States. In terms of their cultural and ideological origins, the differences were not only reflected in historical backgrounds and theoretical understandings but also in policy implementation. However, China and the United States shared the same basic understanding concerning the general value of negotiation in reducing hostility, relaxing tension, and contributing to a more normal relationship. This shared basic understanding formed the foundation for China and the United States to conduce talks on the ambassadorial level.Chapter 2 examines the Chinese-American negotiation experience before the ambassadorial talks. Three events are examined: the armistice talks during the Korean War in 1951-1953, the Huang Hua-Dean talks in Panmunjom in 1953-1954, and the...