Religion And American Diplomacy Towards China After The End Of The Cold War

The international situation based on geopolitics and ideology has undergone fundamental changes since the end of the Cold War. Religion is becoming one of the most important variables that affect international relations, thanks to the emergence of civil society and the renaissance of religion in the world. Among developed countries, the Unites States is most affected by religion. The American religious right is gaining steam and joins its hands with the political right. The two forces have capitalized on the Republican dominance of the U.S. Congress to advocate an anti-persecution movement all over the world. Given such background, it is natural for religion to play an increasing role in American diplomacy toward China. Religion has become a new tool for the U.S. to promote its values, intervene in the internal affairs of China and develop the U.S.-China relations, as containment and human rights diplomacy are not functional in the current world.Religion, as a factor that impacts the U.S. foreign policy, enjoys both spiritual power (religious values) and material power (religious groups). On the one hand, as the basis of U.S. diplomatic ideas, religious values are closely connected with American diplomatic theories and international relations theories. On the other hand, religion also influences the U.S. diplomacy with respect to idea, election, legislation and policy. After the end of the Cold War, the influence of religion on the U.S. foreign policy has become more systematized, legalized and mechanized. Driven by religious interest groups, the U.S. Congress passed in 1998 the "International Religion Freedom Act" aimed to help people who are persecuted because of religion. The U.S. State Department set up the "Office of International Religious Freedom" and the Congress set up the "Commission on International Religious Freedom" in compliance with the 1998 Act. The Act and the two institutions form a pattern of "one body with two wings", which ensures the so-called religious freedom becomes "the core" in the diplomacy of the U.S.The first time that the religious factor was involved in American diplomacy toward China is when the religious right lobbied to stop the Administration to grant China Most-favored -nation status in 1997. Since the enforcement of the 1998 Act, China has always been the focus of criticism in the annual reports of both the Office and the Commission, and has been designated as the "Country of Particular Concern". The religion issue, together with Taiwan and trade, has become an important theme in high-level Sino-U.S. talks. As international situation is changing and the two countries have reevaluated the priorities of their national interests, the religion issue has gradually separated from the theme of human rights, and has become a new source of conflict at the level of structure that weighs on the Sino-U.S. relations.