| Though the relationship between the United States and Britain has been described as a “special” one, there were issues which offered the potential for division. China was one such issue. For over twenty years, Washington and London differed on the best way to split the Sino-Soviet alliance and, in the process, contain China. For Whitehall, the best method was through a conciliatory attitude and contacts with the People's Republic (PRC). The White House, though, preferred a policy of pressure. The result were disputes between the two Western allies, not just at the military, but also the economic and political, levels. Accordingly, London and Washington differed over how to respond to crises in Korea, Indochina, the Taiwan Strait, Laos, and Vietnam; whether to admit Beijing to the United Nations; and to what extend to control trade with the PRC. The two allies were able to avoid a schism in their relations over China, but not without at times serious tension. |
