A Study Of The Think Tanks And Their Role In The Clinton Administration's Policy Toward China

As true sense of the first government of the United States in the post-cold war era,the Clinton administration's foreign policy towards China laid the general tone of the American policy towards China in the post-cold war era.Throughout the formation process of the Clinton administration's foreign policy towards China,it can be found that all kinds of American think tanks played an important role in it.From the perspective of the influence of think tanks on the foreign policy formulation of the Clinton administration on China,the study of Sino-American relations can clarify the context of the U.S.policy on China and grasp the essence of the U.S.policy formulation on China.The influence of think tank on the foreign policy making of Clinton administration on China is caused by various historical and realistic factors.The decentralized and fragmented political system dominated by the White House and congress,as well as the loose political environment caused by the loose party organization system and the declining ability to mobilize the public,provide a vacuum for the think tanks to make policy recommendations.At the same time,after the conservative movement,American think tanks began to be partisan,and they actively provided policy Suggestions for their own party to carry out the partisan struggle.Since then,think tanks have increased their influence on government policy making.With the in-depth study of think tank "China studies" and the great debate on China policy during the Clinton administration,the influence of American think tank on the Clinton administration's China policy began to stand out.Conservative think tanks,represented by the heritage foundation,liberal think tanks,represented by the Brookings,and non-partisan think tanks,represented by the RAND,have exerted important influence on the Clinton administration's China policy making.Under the guidance of their own diplomatic philosophy,the three types of think tanks put forward the policies of "deterrent engagement","flexible engagement" and "Congage china" respectively.This influenced the Clinton administration's official attitude towards China.According to their respective policy tendencies,the three think tanks put forward Suggestions on China-U.S.economic and trade issues,Taiwan-related issues,how to deal with China's energy and environmental development,China's military development and democracy and human rights.In general,conservative think tank's China policy suggestion are characterized by more containment than engagement.Liberal think tank's China policy suggestion are characterized by more engagement than containment.The non-partisan think tanks suggested that the U.S.should consider whether China's development direction and degree are within the range of the U.S.acceptance,and decide whether containment is the priority and engagement is the supplement or the other way around.Regardless of the policy tendencies and specific policy suggestions of the three types of think tanks,they are ultimately designed to protect U.S.interests and give the U.S.a dominant position in U.S.-China relations.The three think tanks,as the two layers of power that can influence the process of American policies making,mobilize the inner and outer layers of power to jointly influence the decision-making of the government through the "revolving door" mechanism,acting as policy designers of presidential candidates and policy marketing means,and finally influence the formation of the Clinton administration's "containment + engagement" policy toward China.