America’s Response to China: A History of Sino-American Relations

by Warren I. Cohen

America's Response to China has long been the standard resource for a succinct, historically grounded assessment of an increasingly complicated relationship. Written by one of America's leading diplomatic historians, this book analyzes the concerns and conceptions that have shaped U.S.-China policy and examines their far-reaching outcomes. Warren I. Cohen begins with the mercantile interests of the newly independent American colonies and discusses subsequent events up to the Tiananmen Square massacre and the policies of George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton. For this fifth edition, Cohen adds a chapter on America in the age of potential Chinese ascendance, envisioning future partnerships and the shrinking global influence of the United States. Trenchant and insightful, America's Response to China is critically important for understanding U.S.-China relations in the twenty-first century.

Genres: China, History, Nonfiction, International Relations, American History

344 pages, Paperback

First published October 6, 1971

About the author

Warren I. Cohen was an American historian specializing in the diplomatic history of the United States. He is Distinguished University Professor, Emeritus, at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Cohen was president of the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations in 1984.

Reviews

[Hotavio · Rating 3 out of 5]

With American debt and the trade discrepancies to China, China has never been more important to the United States than it has now. Relations with China have taken on numerous guises as China has gone from its dynastic past to the socialized “capitalist” nation it is now. Warren I. Cohen of the University of Maryland recalls the curious relations between the United States and China from their 1844 Treaty of Wang-hsia to the election of US President Barack Obama in 2008 in his America’s Response to China: A History of Sino-American Relations. Cohen, releasing this edition at a new watermark in Chinese economic power furthers Chinese growing influence in an increasingly “multi-polar” world. Evident throughout America’s Response to China is that while through the more than 150 years of relations, China remained the lesser of the two in status; it has largely been able to retain independence from the American hegemonic controls. This illustrates the high importance that China has had to the United States.
Because America’s Response to China: A History of Sino-American Relations is a synthesis of works, Cohen does not make a cohesive argument. Rather the interplay between the United States and China provides the context for evidence of the juxtaposition of struggle and cooperation. While Cohen, who has released an edition after major watermarks in China, such as the Tiananmen Square massacre, clearly knows the history of United States and Chinese relations, his book contains few notes (sometimes only 1 or 2 a chapter). This might cause some scholars to dismiss this synthesis from scholarship.
The interplay between the United States and China began in the era of imperialism. While Britain forced the Treaty of Nanking in 1839 for Chinese blockage on the trade of opium, the Chinese handed the United States a treaty without such bloodshed in 1844. Lacking the imperialist force of the Europeans, Americans often benefited from the labors of others in this way. An example of this was in 1860, when the British and French battered Chinese coastal fortresses, only to be turned around. The Chinese then permitted the Americans to ride into Peking for the fruits of these labors. Cohen states that the Chinese perceived the Americans to be the friendliest of the evils and ultimately the most exploitable. Here as well as later in the history of US-China relations, China planned to use America from a perceived position of weakness. America’s Response to China provides similar examples from China’s 1970s rapprochement with the United States providing a counterweight to the Soviet Union to Chiang Kai-shek stockpiling American aid for an anticipated civil war. While China proved reluctant to be bullied by the Americans and even appeared indignant to American expectations, Cohen determines that Americans assumed the role of “protectors” of China. The United States efforts to promote the Open Door Policy, support the Kuomintang, and assist in the modernization of China were not out of altruism, but always in an attempt to serve American interests.
Since the “aberration,” the United States and China have slowly regained a working relationship, especially as it benefits the two nations economically. Still, Cohen warns that 2 main issues test cordial relations: China’s dismal human rights record and United States’ support of Taiwan. Taiwan, its autonomy, and its defense have brought the United States and China to the brink of war. Each US administration presses these issues, but ultimately backs away from them as China refuses to budge. The United States depends on China too much to strong arm it into anything. Cohen illustrates this with his example of Bill Clinton backing away from this threat make Most Favored Nation status contingent on China’s human rights policies.
Cohen’s America’s Response to China: A History of Sino-American Relations is a concise synthesis of the history of relations between the two countries. While largely written from the American perspective, the book considers the Chinese perspective. This allows the reader to sympathize with the Chinese in the face of their obstinacy. Because of the growing importance of the nations to one another, Cohen’s book will remain relevant in introducing readers to the topic, while providing insight into current affairs.

[David Rice · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good if outdated book. Unfortunately it seems like each chapter was written by different people as information is repeated in multiple chapters. This makes the book significantly longer than it needs to be.

[Hartley]

Somewhat dated as any book on IR published in 1971 would be, but still contains much of interest on the history of Sino-American relations up until Nixon. I enjoyed the section contrasting the approaches of Presidents Roosevelt, Taft, and Wilson towards East-Asia quite a bit.

[Ensiform · Rating 3 out of 5]

Skipping over the 1800s as more Europe’s time with China, Cohen details the ups and downs of 20th century Sino-American relations. His thesis is basically that America tried to become the mediator between the “real” imperialist powers and China, but because of American arrogance in assuming this special role, taking for granted that China would see the difference between the USA and Europe, America ironically ended up alienating China. Relations also failed in large part because China was simply not important to America during the 20th century. World Wars which made Europe the key to world events and fostered a sense of isolationism, a depression which focused on domestic issues, and so on, never let Sino-American relations develop to the satisfaction of both parties. This third edition came out right after the Tienanmen Square massacre, and America’s reaction to this even just shows that China’s distrust of American “interference” has only grown over the century.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

An insightful account of American foreign policy in regards to China up until around 2009. Much of the book can feel a bit anticlimactic as a repetitive point is that China simply wasn't very important to American foreign policy for quite some time. However, with the mainland's growing importance in an increasingly interconnected world and the weakened United States, the spheres of influence is changing.

[Kirstin Neff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Comprehensive and well-written. Fascinating topic.

[Camden · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some important history inside, but have to dig through racist, unimportant, or just boring garbage to get to it. There are much better books to look to.