The Great Wall and the Empty Fortress: China's Search for Security Book

An insightful, authoritative analysis of Chinese foreign policy from Mao to the present. In June 1997 China retook control of Hong Kong from Great Britain, an event that generated tension over a free press, a representative legislature, and other democratic institutions now in place. China's relations with the United States, already strained by differences over human rights, trade policy, and arms control issues, were sorely tested. The outcome depended as much upon the United States as upon China. Andrew Nathan and Robert Ross argue that American leaders are blind to a consistent pattern in China's foreign relations: the pursuit of national interest. Crowded on all sides by powerful rivals and potential foes, China's most pressing security problems are at and within its borders. The authors examine China's foreign policy as a search for security with motives similar to those of other states. Nonetheless, to understand what motivates Chinese foreign policy is not to counsel concessions to Chinese demands. Instead this understanding should help Western policy makers to accommodate China when they should, persuade China when they can, and resist China when they must. Read More