History of China\'s Importance to the U.S.,

¶ … history of China's importance to the U.S., from Nixon's visit to China in 1972 to the present, which contributed to the implementation of Obama's 'U.S. Pivot to Asia Strategy'?

The Cold War represented one of the most important periods in the history of the world. It did not only changed the way in which the political world was configured following the end of the Second World War, but, at the same time, it marked a change in the perspective of the way in which relations among states and international actors are perceived. From this point-of-view, the end of this period marked the beginning of an era in which the political coordinates for international relations were uncertain and lacked a particular direction. The demise of the Soviet Union left the United States as the overall winner in the bipolar struggle. However, the entire state system was thrown into a state of confusion and disarray which made the situation from the early years of the post communist period rather uncertain. This however represented an inevitable consequence particularly because of the global nature of the Cold War.

China played a significant role in the Cold War and in balancing the relations between the U.S. And the U.S.S.R. The Cold War was the context in which China re-became an important power and, at the same time, it re-grouped powers around common ideas. After the fall of the communist wall in Europe and the demise of the U.S.S.R., China remained the single most important communist country in the world and is currently ranked second most important economy in the world, after the United States, with an economic growth of 10% average in the last decade. However, in order to fully understand how China reached this status as well as to further grasp the relationship China has in particular with the United States, it is essential to consider the Cold War period and most importantly the role President Nixon and his Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger had in un-locking the diplomatic stalemate between the U.S. And China and so, opening the road to diplomatic cooperation with the U.S.S.R.

The research focuses on several points. The first point takes into account the significant elements of the Cold War and more precisely the historical background of the confrontation. This research is not focused on providing a historical account of the era but rather a description of the elements that determined several key developments, one of which being the actual split between China and the U.S.S.R. that led to the un-locking of the relations between the U.S. And China. Another point taken into consideration is the evolution of the Chinese political and economic might during the Cold War and the post-Mao period. This aspect is important because it sets the stage for explaining the importance of the Chinese for the United States and inevitably the need for this complicated relation. Also, the ideological views are extremely significant for China in the sense that they are based on extremely solid ground that allows China to be, although sometimes uncomfortable, relatively predictable, which is crucial in foreign policy. Finally, all these elements lead to a justified American orientation towards China as the pivot of the U.S. foreign policy in Asia.

Historical background -- the Cold War, Richard Nixon, Henry Kissinger

The Cold War can be seen as a particular, yet strange phenomenon in the history of humankind. It lacked the direct confrontation between the major parties involved, yet it is considered to have been an open conflict, as both the U.S.S.R. And the U.S. used secondary field battles and armed conflict did, after all, occurred. At the same time, from start to finish, politicians and strategy analysts suggested different lines of actions, leading from full confrontation to gradual reduction in tensions and eventually a diplomatic resolution. Henry Kissinger has been the advocate of both. In the beginning, he tended to give credit to those willing to confront the communists and defend each territory from the ideological threat of the socialist giant. Alongside Richard Nixon, he developed the shuttle diplomacy that eventually paid off in reopening talks with communist China and giving a new dimension to the Arab-Israeli conflict, which was, in part, a fragment of the Cold War.

The side wars, which took place throughout the period of the Cold War, are also a clear example of the global nature of the confrontation. Thus, Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan in the 1980s were all wars with deep infiltrations in terms of ideology, politics, and economy (Kissinger, 1995). All this comes to point out that the reason for which the Cold War became a global war is the actual nature of the interdependent relations between states and leaderships.

The historical context of the war also influenced the way it developed. The ideological framework of communism had expanded in Russia and China, two of the most important countries in the world, after the First World War. Throughout this time, there were necessary factors to establish communism as the new ideology to be followed. Considering that China is the most populated country of the world, communism had a lot of adherents. Thus, the phenomenon expanded and enabled the West to take repercussions. Due to the escalatory nature of the conflict, it eventually became global and very difficult to stop.

The most important proof of the central roles played by the U.S.S.R. And the U.S. In the Cold War is the aftermath of this confrontation. Thus, once the demise of the U.S.S.R., the confrontation was put to an end and the victory of capitalism was proclaimed. Countries around the world went through important revolutionary stages to pass from a communist regime to a democratic one.

For the Cold War blueprint, the topic of great power was essential because the two most important countries, the U.S. And the USSS were the poles of power and the ones that determined the way in which the spheres of influence would be split. China at the start of the period was not in this arrangement. However, in time, it stepped up in terms of economy and ideological independence from the USRR.

The Cold War era showed once again the political segment of the notion of great power. Both the U.S. And the Soviet Union had established, by tacit agreement or latent conflicts, their areas of influence. However, the experiences following the Second World War proved the dimension of the political influence in exercising the role of super power. The U.S. had established itself as the upholder of democracy and liberalism, notions it promoted throughout the Free World, while the U.S.S.R., in trying to maintain its status of great power, imposed its communist ideology on Eastern Europe and Third World countries. (Kissinger, 1995) Therefore, the perspective of the ideological confrontation of the Cold War shows the way in which great powers manifest in terms of political influence and in a way justify their reason for being.

In order to reach the status of great power and to maintain it, the military component is rather significant. The most recent example in this sense is the Armaments' Race between the U.S. And the U.S.S.R. (Hobsbawm, 1996) At the time, it was both a means to express their particular supremacy and a way to preserve their own security. This eventually led to the so called security dilemma. (Nye, 2005) It only proved their true nature as great military powers because, taking into account their military parity and their comparable military capabilities, they had reached that point in which one's block security demanded the other one's insecurity or destruction. At the same time it underlined the importance of great powers to develop the means to support their claims for supremacy.

Finally, and probably the most important aspect to be taken into account is the economic dimension of the exercise of leadership as a great power. The Cold War era can again be seen as a worthy example in this sense. The economic system is defining for maintain the status of leadership. Although scholars did not succeed in anticipating the end of the confrontation, subsequent opinions argue that from the very beginning, the communist economic system was destined to fail simply because it would eventually suffer an implosion. (Calvocoressi, 1996) Therefore, in order to maintain the status in the international scene, a competitive economic system that would provide financial and human resources for both the military and political segments is essential.

Currently, it is rather hard to determine the actual need of the international system as it is today for the existence of great powers from a political perspective. The institutional perspective on international relations strongly argues the fact that not only the national state is no longer the main actor in international affairs, but that its status as the essential social structure is undermined. (Karlas, 2006) Indeed, the realists argue that the state, no matter its size and strength is in constant search for its security. Still, in terms of security as presented by Barry Buzan, who considers that its implications go beyond military issues, (Buzan, ) the new threats posed by terrorism, famine, deadly diseases or global warming can no longer be dealt with only by national entities.

The international political scene at this time is not dominated by a great power, nor should it be. Seeing how great powers manifest themselves in terms of political influence, it is basically impossible for a state to exercise the political dominance over the enormous amount of different political forces that are present in the countries around the world. Indeed, most states have engaged in democratic political processes; however, there are important actors on the international scene, such as China, Russia, Iran who refuse to accept the Western style of politics and therefore its influence.

From a military perspective, the existence of a major power cannot be considered to be viable for various reasons. First, terrorist groups have become worthy actors of the international relations, as institutional theorists point out, and they are not controllable factions. Still they do represent important military players because they often have access to finances and technology which make them important adversaries for any great power. Secondly, should a comparison be made at the level of national states, the existence of the Iranian nuclear threat, the North Korean nuclear file, as well as India and Pakistan's nuclear perspectives creates a rather important disequilibrium unfavorable to the Western world. Therefore, the desire to top these countries would only encourage them to move forward and acquire even more military capabilities, establishing a vicious relation, similar to the Cold War security dilemma.

By comparison to the previous elements, which define the status of great power, the political and military influence, the economic dominance in this globalized world is the hardest to attain. In this area, current reality shows that indeed, nation states have a minor role in establishing the trends of the world economy. Despite the fact that they can manifest their influence in international organizations such as the WTO, they no longer have the decisive word in transnational mergers and acquisitions, in setting currency values or stock sells. Multinational corporations can be seen therefore as becoming major powers in this area. Indeed, the confrontations are on the financial markets, still their aim is the acquisition and maintain of influence and power.

China -- economic growth, political might -- Cold War period and post- Mao development

China's economic success since the death of Mao is largely attributable to the post-Mao retention of an authoritarian political system.

The Asian continent has been the center of attention for decades now and it is considered to be one of the most important areas in the world due to its economic, military, and most importantly its demographic potential. Without a doubt, the state with the most impressive evolution in the region is China. Its economic rise has been so spectacular that it triggered the discussions on its geostrategic potential, which, throughout the Cold War era, were latent. Nowadays, one can talk about the serious implications of its territory- the third largest state in the world-, of its population- the most populated country-, of its military might, as well as its human potential, translated in the extraordinary labor force.

The current situation of the Chinese economy is largely due to reforms and strategies that have been implemented following Mao Zedong's death. It is fair to consider the period of Mao to have been one of the most atrocious in Chinese history. Indeed several reforms took place at the time, among which the Great Leap Forward. However, the Chinese economy and the population suffered from the economic setbacks and the planned labor programs.

However, the changes that took place after the death of Mao Zedong enabled China to become at one point the most important economic power in the world. Thus, A general outlook on figures representing the situation of the Chinese economy points out the scale of its development starting from 1978, a milestone for the emergence of China as a new economic force, taking into account the reform platform Deng Xiaoping outlined. In this sense, a general conclusion of various statistics shows that "in 1978, it accounted for less than one percent of the world economy, and its total foreign trade was worth $20.6 billion. Today, it accounts for four percent of the world economy and has foreign trade worth $851 billion -- the third-largest national total in the world." (Bijian, 2005) This comes to prove the success with which the Chinese government managed to combine its national potential, be it human, natural resources, state funds, or even ideological beliefs in order to stimulate the emergence of an underdeveloped economic system in a the capitalist era.

At the same time however, it is rather hard to define the actual key of success for the Chinese phenomenon. More precise, Morrison argues in a paper brief for the U.S. Congress that one of the most difficult challenges facing China is the deep social inequality (2006). This situation is rather difficult to justify in a country with such a high economic growth. The only reason would be that of an unhealthy political and social system. This would be the result of clear historical issues surrounding politics and social life.

These issues come from the time of Mao Zedong and the period after. In this sense, China's geographical, demographic, and political potential placed it ahead of its Asian neighbors. The military rise of China came as a result of the combination between its economic emergence and its imperial historical past and constitutes nowadays an essential element of the confirmation of China as a major force in the world. (L'atlas geopolitique, 2002) However, none of this could have been achieved without the political commitment of the communist regime to reestablish the nation's past glory, an element which stimulated the population and gave it the sense of national unity to support any decision taken at the central level. (Bijian, 2005) All these elements placed together "could make China a superpower" and consequently a threat to the world's economic system, which is based on other principles such as free markets and capitalism. (Roy, 1996).

The reforms that swept China from 1978 to 1997, in this time noting a 9.8 annual gross rate (Li, n.d.) have been marked by acute political reforms and setbacks. During the early years of the reformation, the corruption was flourishing and enabled public spending to reach extraordinary levels. However, this was an imminent factor as the freedom sent after the death of Mao enabled the political system to engage in less controlled activities.

The success of the reforms in the 1980s and 1990s represented in fact a success of the planned economy with less strain for the population. In this sense, the economic practices proved to be more liberal, even if in the lines of the communist party. Indeed, there was still a state run system; however, "the period of readjustment produced promising results, increasing incomes substantially; raising the availability of food, housing, and other consumer goods; and generating strong rates of growth in all sectors except heavy industry, which was intentionally restrained" (Worden, 1987). Therefore, it can be considered that the industry which is the most important level of the economy was still maintained in control of the state. From this point-of-view, the state refused to cease power and controlled the economy.

An important elements of the reformation period, from 1978 onwards, was the actual control of the state in terms of political appointments. More precisely, the important state run factories and industries had appointed CEOs and which always came from the party lines (Virmani, 2006). This was a crucial factor because it enabled the constant control of the state on the industry. Thus, even though the economy was moving on a liberal trend, the actual management of the company was politically run allowing a strict control of the production and of exports. With an industry that reached important sizes and in a country which is constantly growing, this practice was benefic because it provided the necessary framework for continuing the planned economy but on capitalist principles.

This constant control over the economy reflected also on the population. In this sense, when the five-year planned was first drafted after 1978, the entire population was requested or even obliged to contribute by severely reducing their own spending in order to achieve the proposed goals of the party. As stated by Virmani, given the perspective of decentralization, management at the level of the provinces rather than at the central level, the state noted serious revenue losses (2006). Therefore, even if the decentralization was in place, the state forced the population to individually contribute to the well-being of the nation. It is possible that in no other country of the world the population would have accepted it; however, in China, people willingly offered part of its savings for the common good.

The economic reforms, which took place in, this period helped create a particular social structure that is visible today in the big cities. Thus, today the entrepreneurs are visible throughout China and are experiencing a rather friendly atmosphere with the state. More importantly, foreign investors are common practice nowadays due to the cheap labor force. As opposed to other states that ran the communist system, China fails to undergo major reforms at the administrative and economic levels.

In recent years, the events on the Chinese political system only strengthened the belief that although the Chinese government will continue to support reforms throughout the economic system, it will fail to endure reforms to its own state apparatus. President Hu Jintao stated in numerous occasions that China would not undergo change to envisage a democratic process (BBC, 2004). From this point-of-view, it is clear that all reforms undergone by the Chinese economy will not ensure a better level of life for the common Chinese.

The future evolution of the Chinese model of development in the context of the globalised economy is however hard to ascertain. However, if Chinese markets do open to foreign trade, as stipulated in the WTO guidelines China should obey, an eventual reformation of the political system is inevitable largely due to the fact that the external factors involved will surely influence the way in which planned economies function.

Chinese rule -- difference of doctrinal approach and economic thinking

The 20th century saw some of the most interesting political evolutions in the history of humanity. Throughout the one hundred years, the world lived the disastrous experience of the total war, it came to realize the power of the atomic bomb, but, most importantly it went through what came to be labeled as a "cold war," a political confrontation between two ideological systems, whose proponents, the U.S. And the U.S.S.R. never came in direct and face off contact. However, along these historical lines, the event that drew the most attention, due in part to its recent developments and its effects that are visible to this day was the unexpected yet imminent fall of communism in the U.S.S.R.

The demise of the soviet system of rule came as a surprise not only for the political elite around the world, but also for the majority of scholars who failed to predict this evolution. At the moment, the effects are visible in the struggle of former communist countries including the Russian Federation to reemerge on the political and economic stage. By comparison, the People's Republic of China, an essential communist element in the power equation of the Cold War has succeeded in avoiding the wave of change of the late 80s and early 90s and is now one of the most important actors in international relations. Yet, it is a communist country. The explication of its eventual success resides in the specificities of the communist doctrine applied in China as opposed to the one implemented in the former Soviet Union. In order to have a comprehensive view on this factual reality, it is important to consider the factors which set apart Soviet communism and the Chinese one and which ensured its continuity of the latter's political system.

The eventual evolution of the communist camp, thus the fall of the Soviet Union and the survival of Communist China can be explained in historical terms, as well as through elements which are inextricably connected to the specific views the cultural experience of each of the two states provided. In fact, it was not so much the issue of international context which determined the eventual fall of Russia and survival of China, but rather more of the way in which China managed to adapt the communist system of beliefs to its cultural and political reality.

The communist doctrine can be seen as having emerged from the ideas of people such as Marx and Engels, who considered in the late 1800s that the capitalist rule, to a certain extent, was limited in offering equal opportunities to the working class; even more, the yoke of the economic capitalism would eventually give rise to social inequality and revolution. The idea of revolution was viewed as the single means for achieving change in the society and for the reemergence of equality between the classes of the society. This perspective was applied in both the Russian and the Chinese situation. Thus, the Bolshevik revolution in the former Russian Empire led to the overthrown of the tsarist rule in 1917 and the establishment of the soviet system of government by 1922.

Similarly, the Chinese had their own particular experience with the imperial rule which fueled the desire for a new sort of political system; in this sense, "from the early 1920's Russia, the Communist International and the Chinese Communist Party were important factors in Chinese politics, whereas elsewhere in Asia communism was a negligible force until World War II. Chinese communism matured over more than two decades of regional rule and struggle with the nationalist government, until successive gains in the anti-Japanese war and the civil war brought it to power as a disciplined totalitarian movement." (Daniels, 282, 1960)

The difference between the two ways in which communism became state policy in the two countries however represented an important element which separated the perspectives of the two in reference to the interpretation of communism. Thus, in the tsarist led country of Russia, there was an increased anger against the wealth and richness of the ruling family as opposed to the poverty of the peasant population. The small nobility was also in contrast to the way in which the common people were living their lives, the opulence of the former being in deed contrast with the needy standard of living of the later. In this context, the Leninist encouragement to a revolution that would destroy from its roots this inequality appealed to the masses and succeeded in eventually establishing the so called rule of the people. Thus, communism relied on the idea of the class struggle.

By comparison, China did not manifest such an important popular impetus. Robert Daniels argues in this sense that "the Chinese Communist victory was anomalous from the Marxist standpoint because it was not based on the working class and lacked a definite class struggle. The pattern, which the other Far-Eastern Communist movements have copied, was to bring all available social groups into a movement controlled by the disciplined Communist Party; to capitalize on nationalistic and anti-imperialist emotion; and to develop the "proletarian" base of the movement not by social selection but by intellectual "remolding" or conversion on the basis of Marxist-Leninist ideology." (282, 1960) Therefore, the Chinese model of communism relied more on the idea of exploiting the national specificity of the country, rather than to merely adopt its precepts. Hence, "it is in the Far East that communism comes closest to being a religion-with salvation, one might say, based on faith." (Daniels. 282, 1960)

Another element which sets in opposition the two communist countries was the way their leaders perceived the revolution and the role of the single party, the Communist party. Thus, in the Russian case, the revolution included the peasantry that had suffered from the oppressive regime of the tsar and therefore had to rise against any idea that would have included terms such as private property or free entrepreneurship because it was considered that such elements were traditional for the social construction of the capitalist state. (Hosbawn, 1996) The role of the single party was to hold a tight grip on the political scene afterwards, reducing all opposition, this action being motivated by the belief that it would limit the rise to power of capitalist forces and at the same time, it would prevent any rebellious attitude.

On the other hand, in China, the opposition was not focused so much on issues that had been related to the capitalist regime, although these notions had been included in the discussions on the role of communism. However, the main goal of the Chinese party was to create a democratic government that would ensure the correction of conditions such as the ones in which "the owners of small enterprises are being deprived of property; artisans fill the ranks of the army of the unemployed; peasants sell their land to landlords for absurd sums of money because they are unable to conduct their own economy, owing to the continuously rising cost of living." (Daniels, 284, 1960) Thus, the Chinese perception of communism was of salvation from the outside forces trying to suppress the independence of the state and the well being of its people, be they peasants of small businessmen.

For many years during the Cold War, the communist phenomenon was considered to be a unitary affair and most importantly it was perceived by the Western world as being a conspiracy against the democratic system promoted by the U.S. (Modelsky, 1968) However as research became more available, it was clear that a Sino-Russian break existed, fueled by the differences existing at the level of the way in which the communist doctrine was interpreted and applied.

The first signs that hinted towards a challenging of Russian communism came from Eastern Europe, in Yugoslavia. In 1948, Tito decided to defect from the Russian party lines imposed from the U.S.S.R. The reason was considered to be the leader's decision to try to reconsider the communist ideals from a national perspective, one that would cater precisely to the needs of his ethnically and religiously divided Yugoslavian state. (Calvocoressi, 1987) In this sense, he took into account the element of ethnicity and religion and its diversity on the Yugoslav territory as being essential in drafting any vision of state rule. Although he did follow a number of general lines traditional to the communist planed economic system, he valued the need to create a national identity and therefore a national type of communism. This may be one of the reasons for which the Yugoslav state persisted in time, despite the difficult historical conditions and simmering ethnical and religious tensions. (Nye, 2005)

China's successful communist rule can also be motivated through the fact that it decided to adapt, rather than adopt the communist precepts. Taking into account the conditions in which the communists came to power in China, it was clear to most observers that there was a definite distinction between the soviet and the Chinese systems. (Calvocoressi, 1987) While the U.S.S.R. did not consider the different nationalities under its rule, the Chinese sought to include the nationalistic perspective in its ideology.

In this sense, the U.S.S.R. tried to impose communism in most countries in Eastern Europe through the force of arms, more precisely through the Red Army. Throughout the Second World War and in the early years of peace the presence of the Red Army was considered to be the only viable solution to counter and defeat the Nazi threat. This is why most western countries supported the initiatives of the Soviet Union to liberate the oppressed peoples of Romania, Hungry, Czechoslovakia, Poland, and Eastern Berlin. However, in these countries, there were reminiscences of democratic rule and, despite the continuous efforts from the Russian side to try to shape their political systems, the communist percepts were imposed by force and they failed to give a democratic support to the puppet governments set in place. This led in the end to massive popular demonstrations against the political forces, such as the 1956 Hungarian revolution, the 1968 Check rebellion, and the Romanian refusal to allow Soviet troops to cross its territory in the attempt to diffuse the situation in Czechoslovakia. Finally, opposition movements emerged in Poland through the Solidarity movement of Leck Walesa. (Kissinger, 1995)