Chinese Foreign Policy: Developments After Mao

This is one of the first overviews of Chinese foreign policy since the death of Mao in 1976. Sutter concludes that China has worked hard to ensure that its strategic environment, threatened mainly by the Soviet Union, remains stable so that it can focus on its economic modernization. Chinese leaders see cooperation with the United States as especially important in deterring the U.S.S.R. and aggravating its strategic vulnerabilities. At the same time, China uses exchanges and dialogue with the Soviet Union to help manage the Soviet danger.