George W Bush's China Policy - A Hierarchical System Analysis

As the relations between the largest developing country and the largest developed country, the Sino-U.S. relations have special significance, which go beyond the general bilateral ties and possesses the regional even the global value. The Sino- U.S. relations have always been full of twists and turns. There are competitions and co-operations, conflicts and compromises. During the period of the Bush's administration, the U.S. foreign policy on china went through complex changes, which resulted from not only the changes of the international surrounding but also the internal political need. The Sino-U.S relations are on the threshold to the state of stabilization and are advanced in the context of changes.Systematic and structural approaches are adopted to observe and analyze the Bush Administration's foreign policy with three political images man, nation and international system as major parameters. The Bush Administration's identity construction of America and China respectively and its interest-building are interpreted in the light of"learning"and"identity"theories, also the Bush Administration's subjective construction in Sino-U.S. Relation as well as the policy making based on it are analyzed through the theory of"process"in international system and the theory of interaction. Aiming at the enhancement of the relations between the two nations and pursuing the mutual interest, a probe into some essential factors and the factors that may reflect general rules has been made with reference to the actual needs at present and in future. The study of American policy towards China in thesis provides insight for possible China's rational countermeasures. It also finds significance in effort to protect the national interest of China and assume an active role instead of the passive role in Sino-American relations to pave the way for the peaceful development in China.The dissertation consists of sevecn sectors except preface.Chapter one describes and analyses the Bush administration's foreign policy on china since he came into power in 2001.The Sino- U.S. relations went through three phases and the China's orientation of United States has changed in accordance with the situation. The Chinese image from the aspects of U.S. changed from the"competitor"to"constructive cooperation"to"stakeholder"which has been influenced by the adjustments of America's strategy on China. Generally speaking, according to the"hedge"strategy, the Bush administration adopts the policy that includes"contact","cooperation"and"keep away","containment".Chapter two mainly describes and demonstrates the methodology adopted in this thesis from the aspect of theory and with an insight into the U.S. foreign policy on China by level and systematic approaches. From the angle of unit, it analyzes the factors that influence the foreign policy from the America's internal political system and its political culture. Taking the international structure into consideration, it discusses the influence of the maintenance or change of the status quo or the seating arrangement in international structure on its foreign policy; from the aspects of the international system, it analyzes the cognition and the orientation of image which formed from the interaction of nations and take them as the proof and base of the foreign policy.Chapter III and chapter IV mainly investigate the American china policy in virtue of the level of individual and unit. Chapter III analyzes the factors including Bush's political individuality, family background and his experience on China, pointing out the influential genes imposed on the policy-making on China and those factors concerned the individual identification and subjective judgment of the leader. Bush's political character of passive--positivity, indifference in foreign affairs, and the enthusiasm on Christianity, especially the perception of Salvation and his individual experience when he had the first trip in china and stayed in Beijing for six weeks in 1975, these are all important components that affected Bush's image of China, which are seen as the"competitor"or"rival". But Bush adjusted his China policy later and a kindly path was paved by his father though the changes urged by outside force.Chapter IV elaborates the influences of the internal political system and political culture of U.S. It chooses some special cases related to the congress and interesting groups as the study objectives, indicating that the multi-political system impose much negative effect on policy-making and make the American China–policy more complicate. It also embodies that the character of the diplomacy is the extending of the internal politics. The insight and analysis of the political culture such as"WAPS"(White Anglo-Saxon Protestants),"salvation"and"pragmatism"helps to achieve a better understanding the American cognition on Chinese image and the foreign policy on China which was formed and based on the cognition of the American Chinese image.Chapter V discusses the role of the character of the structure in affecting the Sino-U.S. Relations. The delicate positional change of the America and China in international system respectively influenced the judgment of America on its interests; moreover it urged the change and adjustment of its China policy. The part compares the American's image of China with the facts and concludes that the choice of the international structure is one of critical factors affecting the policy-making.Chapter VI analyzes the Sino-U.S. Relations from the angle of the identification, the interaction between China and America in international system and the relation-building in the process of the interaction. The image of hegemony on U.S itself and the"rival"and"competitor"on China make the Bush's administration choose the policy of"containment"and"keeping away". In the process of the interaction between U.S. and China, Bush applies the policy of"containment","keeping away"or the policy of"cooperation","integration"respectively in different fields according to the different choices of the relation building, the"hegemony-competitor"and the"comprehensive interdependence". The conclusion of this dissertation, in the light of the current conditions and new issues, expropriates the recent developments and future tendencies of the American foreign policy on China due to its domestic"elected politics". During the course of the Bush's administration, the Sino-U.S. Relations was advanced in a spiral style and was mixed with troubles and obstacles, but the general tendency which following the way to the constructive cooperation direction has been deepened and developed. The research indicates that China is undergoing the new peaceful arising and puts forward some suggestions for China's countermeasure on U.S.. China should seek the mutual interest of both countries with a strategic and long-term perspective, attach more attention to the strategy, and it is advisable to advance and retreat freely,to struggle but not to break the ties, to strive but not to crack, solving problems in reasonable, flexible and temperate ways. The measures China will adopt should show the agility in trouble solving and advance the Sino-U.S. Relations. Those serve to accomplish the three historical tasks of China in the 21st century.