The impact of Reagan on the modernization of China

The modernization of any nation is a long term process. China in particular has been advancing to modernity for the better part of a century. In addition, there exists no one particular catalyst for the process of the modernization of a nation. Many actors and many actions helped to shape modern states into their present forms. This researcher seeks to add to this body of literature by examining the role of the Reagan administration in the modernization of China. The researcher analyzes Sino-American relations under Pres. Reagan in the light of the role his policies and his various appointments played in encouraging China to move forward toward the prominent position in world economic and political affairs that it enjoys today.;This researcher also focuses on why the Reagan administration's attempts produced such successful results for China whereas those before it did not. While China was in the end ultimately responsible for its own modernization, this investigator posits that any effort by Beijing would not have been as expedient or successful without the policies implemented by Pres. Reagan. A certain paradox exists in the president's treatment of China in a lesser light than had Nixon or Carter, in that China developed faster in spite of this apparent lessening in encouraged modernization. Reagan did not aim at ultimately modernizing China, yet his non-theoretical, free market based economic and political approach may have been the very catalyst needed to finally fully awaken the sleeping giant.