The Role Of Political Culture In Sino-U.S. Relations

The foreign policy of a country displays the unique characteristics and political cultural of a country. Understanding this political culture requires a multidisciplinary approach that looks at both the abstract and micro components of the country’s culture.In Sino-US diplomatic relations, the political culture of the two countries play a special role, they affect the positioning of the two countries on the nation’s self-image and the understanding of the outside world or other countries. These unique political cultures which have been shaped by historical development also affect the national interests of the two countries, mainstream values, goals and means of diplomacy.Furthermore, the Chinese notion of Tianxia and American Exceptionalism are two of the representative political cultures in China and the U.S, respectively. Tianxia and American Except ionalim, which represent each country’s ideal, are evident to this day in national leaders’ political discourse, scholarship, and the beliefs and thoughts of average citizens.Though the future direction and interests of Sino-American relations cannot be separated from the overall conditions of the international sphere, the political culture of each country is still important. In fact, when faced with the issue, sometimes each country’s unique political culture has created opposing opinions and policies. This is best epitomized by the Taiwan situation. This paper in studying the historical origins of each country’s political culture and their policies towards Taiwan tries to demonstrate how differences in political cultures can be overcome to normalize diplomatic relations.