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Page 1: FINAL HONG KONG UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY · HONG KONG UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ... The third part of the course will review the major issues in the ... The

FINAL

HONG KONG UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Division of Social Science

SOSC 1340 Spring 2017

China-United States Relations Professor Harding

Course description

This course is an introduction to one of the most important international

relationships in the contemporary world, that between the United States and China.

The evolution of that relationship will be of critical importance in shaping the

international order, both globally and regionally, and in managing or resolving a

wide range of crucial global and regional issues. At the same time, the

relationship is complex and fluid, with increasingly competitive features

alongside a continued mutual desire to promote cooperation and avoid conflict.

The course offers an analytic history of US-China relations from the late 18th

century to the present. It is divided into three parts. The first covers the period

from 1776 (American independence) to 1972 (The Nixon visit). It describes how

the events during this 200-year period produced historical narratives in each

society that continue to influence how the two countries perceive and deal with

each other in more recent times.

The second part of the course covers the period from 1972 to the present. Its

focus is on how the two governments have tried to build a cooperative

relationship so as to avoid the conflicts that some scholars believe are the

inevitable result of the interaction between a dominant power (the Unites States)

and a rising power (China). It describes the strategies that the two governments

employed, either unilaterally or together, and explains why those strategies have

thus far produced disappointing results. What was once envisioned as a

“constructive strategic partnership” in the 1980s is now increasingly viewed as a

competitive relationship, even a rivalry.

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The third part of the course will review the major issues in the relationship, as

seen from both American and Chinese perspectives, and will conclude with a

forecast of the future of the relationship.

Course mechanics

The course will meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1.30 to 2.50 in Lecture Theatre D.

The first meeting of the class will be on Thursday, February 2.

Learning objectives

By the conclusion of the course, students will be expected to be able to answer the

following questions:

What makes an international relationship important? Why do many analysts regard the U.S.-

China relationship as the most important bilateral relationship in the contemporary world? Do

you agree with that assessment?

What are the historical roots of the contemporary U.S.-China relationship? How does the past

influence the present?

What are the main features of the relationship between China and the U.S.? Why

are those dimensions important? Do these features produce cooperation or

competition in the relationship?

What are the main policy issues currently facing the two countries? What are the prospects for

managing them successfully?

What domestic and international factors explain the current state of U.S.-China relations?

What are possible forecasts for the Sino-American relationship going forward, and under what

conditions might they actually come about?

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Methods of instruction

Since this is a large undergraduate course, lectures will be the main instructional method.

Short videos will be shown during some lectures. A PowerPoint outline will be

distributed to the students before each class to help them follow the lectures. However,

those outlines will not provide detailed summaries of the lectures. And ask questions

about anything that is unclear. Students are therefore expected to attend each lecture,

listen attentively, take careful notes. Students should also be prepared to access the iPRS

in every class, both to record their attendance and to respond to questions posed by the

instructor. Some questions will cover the assigned readings; other questions will ask for

opinions about some of the day’s topic. The midterm and examinations will include

material presented in lectures as well as in the lecture outlines and assigned readings.

In addition to attending lectures, students will also be assigned required readings. Most

of them will be drawn from the following textbooks, which should eventually be

available at the Bookstore as well as on reserve in the Library.

The textbooks can also be ordered through on-line retailers. Amazon

(www.amazon.com), based in the U.S., sells both new books and used books, which can

be considerably cheaper, but delivery times can be slow. Book Depository

(www.bookdepository.com), based in the U.K., has faster delivery times, but only sells

new books, which will be more expensive. As additional options, some of the textbooks

are available as e-books through the library website, and some are available on Kindle, as

noted below:

Warren I. Cohen, America's Response to China: A History of Sino-

American

Relations, 5th

edition, A history of the relationship, focusing largely on the

early period, by the leading American historian of the U.S.-China

relationship. Available on Kindle and as an e-book.

James Mann, About Face: A History of America’s Curious Relationship

with China, from Nixon to Clinton. A history of the relationship from

Nixon onward, by a renowned American journalist and author.

Nina Hachigian, Debating China: The U.S.-China Relationship in Ten

Conversations. A series of written conversations between Chinese and

American analysts on major issues in the relationship, edited by a

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prominent American analyst who served as ambassador to ASEAN in the

Obama Administration. Available on Kindle and as an e-book.

The other required readings will all be posted on CANVAS. Additional short

readings on current developments may be added from time to time over the course

of the semester.

Methods of assessment

The main methods of evaluation will be the midterm and final examinations. Each will

utilize a combination of multiple-choice and short-answer questions. Class

attendance will also contribute to the course grade. Students can earn additional

points by participating in an optional team project.

The course grade will be calculated as follows:

Midterm examination: maximum of 30 points

Final examination: maximum of 60 points

Class attendance (including completion of the SFQ at the end of the

semester): maximum of 10 points

Students will have the opportunity to earn 10 extra points by doing an

optional team project, selected from the following list:

1. Photographic analysis: teams of 5-6 students will each be given a

photograph of a major event (or an important person) in the U.S.-China

relationship. They will be asked to identify that person or event and

explain its significance and then present their findings in class.

2. Issue analysis: Teams of 5-6 students will be asked to analyze one of the

most important issues in the contemporary U.S.-China relationship. They

will be asked to define the issue, analyze the positions taken by each

country, and assess whether there is any common ground between Beijing

and Washington on that issue.

3. Book review: Teams of 5-6 students will be asked to report on a major

recent book or report on the US-China relationship, summarizing the

book’s major conclusions and assessing its strengths and weaknesses.

4. Debate: Teams of 5-6 students will be given a controversial proposition

about an important aspect of the U.S.-China relationship and will be asked

to argue either for or against it. Each student will have a specific role to

play in the debate, such as presenting his team’s case, questioning or

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rebutting the other team’s presentation, or summarizing her own team’s

case.

The selection among these options by students interested in earning extra credit,

and the assignment of students into teams, will occur early in the term, just after

the add/drop period ends on February 14.

The university’s standards on academic integrity apply to this course, as to all courses at UST.

They can be found online at http://tl.ust.hk/integrity. If you have any questions about these

standards, please consult the instructor or the teaching assistant.

Lecture schedule and reading assignments

1. (Th, 2/2) Orientation to the course

Reading: Hachigian, ch. 1.

The history of the relationship

2. (T, 2/7) The imperial and republican eras (1776-1949)

Reading: Cohen, Prologue and chs. 1-5.

3. (Th, 2/9) The early Cold War (1949-69)

Reading: Cohen, chs. 6-7.

4. (T, 2/14) From détente and rapprochement to normalization (1969-1979)

Reading: Cohen, chs. 8-9; and Mann, Prologue and chs. 1-3.

5. Th, 2/16) Normalization and honeymoon (1989-89)

Reading: Mann, chs. 4-7.

6. (T, 2/21) From honeymoon to near-divorce (1989-89)

Reading: Mann, chs. 8-18.

7. (Th, 2/23) Recurring historical patterns and divergent historical narratives

Reading, Harry Harding, “’So Bloody Similar’”; and Eric Fish, “U.S.-

China Relations as a Cycle of Rapturous Enchantment and Deep

Disappointment, China File December 9, 2016.

8. (T, 2/28) Different political systems and political values

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Reading: Hachigian, chs. 3 (Zhou and Nathan) and 4 (Wang and Shirk);

and David L. Shambaugh (ed.), Tangled Titans, chs. 5 (Sutter) and 6

(Hao).

Partners or rivals?

9. (Th, 3/2) The challenge of the “Thucydides trap”

Reading: Graham Allison, “The Thucydides Trap: Are the U.S.

and China Headed for War?” The Atlantic, September 24, 2015.

10. (T, 3/7) MIDTERM EXAMINATION

11. (Th, 3/9) “Comprehensive engagement” and “constructive strategic

partnership”

Reading: Avery Goldstein, “The Diplomatic Face of China's Grand Strategy:

A Rising Power's Emerging Choice,” China Quarterly (1001).

12. (T, 3/14) Complex interdependence

Reading: Stephen Roach¸ Unbalanced: The Codependence of America

and China, Preface.

13. (Th, 3/16) Integrating China into the international order as a “responsible

stakeholder”

Reading: Richard Haaass, “China and the Future of U.S.-China Relations,”

remarks to the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, December 5,

2002; and Hachigian, ch. 5 (Yuan and Hachigian).

14. (T, 3/21) Deeper engagement and closer collaboration

Reading: C. Fred Bergsten, “The United States-China Economic

Relationship and the Strategic and Economic Dialogue,” testimony

before the Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific and the Global

Environment, Committee on Foreign Affairs, US House of

Representatives 10 (2009); and Elizabeth C. Economy and Adam

Segal, "The G-2 Mirage: Why the United States and China Are Not

Ready to Upgrade Ties." Foreign Affairs (2009): 14-23

15. (Th, 3/23) Reassuring, hedging and balancing

Reading: David Shambaugh, "Sino-American strategic relations:

from partners to competitors." Survival, 42: 1 (2000): 97-115;

John J. Tkacik Jr, "Hedging Against China"; Josh Rogin, “The end

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of the concept of ‘strategic reassurance’?,” Foreign Policy 6

(2009);” Kurt Campbell and Brian Andrews. "Explaining the US

‘Pivot’ to Asia,” Americas 1 (2013).

16. (T, 3/28) Reducing mistrust

Reading: Wang Jisi and Kenneth G. Lieberthal, Wang Jisi and Kenneth

Lieberthal, Addressing U.S.-China Strategic Mistrust; and Seiichiro Takagi,

“What’s in a Name?: The China-U.S. Interaction over the ‘New Type of

Major Country Relationship,’” in CSCAP Regional Security Outlook 2016;

and Peter Harris, “The American People Aren’t Ready for China,” National

Interest February 8, 2015.

17. (Th, 3/30) Deeper interdependence

Reading: Hachigian, ch. 2 (Naughton and Yao);” and Thilo Hanemann and

Daniel H. Rosen, Chinese Investment in the United States: Recent Trends and

the Policy Agenda.

(T, 4/4) CHING MING FESTIVAL

18. (Th, 4/6) The U.S.-China relationship: a practitioner’s perspective

Guest speaker: Kurt W. Tong

Reading: to be announced

Current issues in the relationship

19. (T, 4/11) Taiwan

Reading: Hachigian, chapter 9 (Jia and Romberg; John J.

Mearsheimer, “Say Goodbye to Taiwan,” The National Interest (2014);

Nancy Tucker and Bonnie Glaser, “Should the United States Abandon

Taiwan?,” Washington Quarterly (2011), pp. 23-37.

(Th, 4/13) SPRING BREAK

(T, 4/18) SPRING BREAK

20. (Th, 4/20) Conventional and human security

Reading: Hachigian, chs. 8 (Twomey and Xu) and 10 (Wu and Green).

21. (T, 4/25) Prospects for the relationship

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Reading: Yan Xuetong, "The Instability of China–U.S. Relations,"

Chinese Journal of International Politics (2010); Aaron L. Friedberg,

“The Future of U.S.-China Relations: Is Conflict Inevitable?”

International Security (2005); Charles Glaser, “Will China's Rise Lead

to War? Why Realism Does Not Mean Pessimism,” Foreign Affairs

(201), and Hachigian, Conclusion (Steinberg).

22. (Th, 4/27) PRESENTATIONOF TEAM PROJECTS

23. (Th, 5/2) CLASS DEBATE

Instructors

Harry Harding

The principal instructor for the course, Harry Harding, is a specialist on Asia and

U.S.-Asian relations. In addition to several edited volumes, his major publications

include Organizing China: The Problem of Bureaucracy, 1949-1966; China’s Second

Revolution: Reform after Mao; A Fragile Relationship: the United States and China

since 1972; and the chapter on the Cultural Revolution in the Cambridge History of

China. His next book will be a study of US-China relations since 1989.

Presently a University Professor and Professor of Public Policy at the University of

Virginia, he also holds a concurrent appointment as Visiting Professor of Social

Science and Senior Advisor to the Institute for Public Policy at the Hong Kong

University of Science and Technology.

Professor Harding served as the founding dean of the Frank Batten School of

Leadership and Public Policy at the University of Virginia between 2009 and 2014.

Before joining the Batten School, he held faculty appointments at Swarthmore

College and Stanford University and was the founding director of the Asia Program at

the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington and a Senior

Fellow in the Foreign Policy Studies Program at the Brookings Institution. From 1995

to 2005 he served as Dean of the Elliott School of International Affairs at the George

Washington University, and from 2005 to 2007 was Director of Research and

Analysis at Eurasia Group, a political risk research and advisory firm based in New

York. He has served on the boards of numerous educational and non-profit

institutions as well as on the U.S.-China Joint Commission on Science and

Technology and the U.S. Defense Policy Board. Harding grew up in New York and

graduated from Princeton University in public and international affairs. he also holds

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a Ph.D. in political science from Stanford University. Professor Harding’s office

hours are Tuesdays from 4.00 to 5.00 and Thursdays from 11.00 to 12.00 in Room

2368 in the Academic Building. Professor Harding can also be reached by e-mail:

[email protected].

Chan Chi Shing (Bill), the course’s teaching assistant, is an instructional assistant in

the Division of Social Science. He received his master’s degree in statistics and his

B.Sc. degree in risk management and mathematics from the University of Hong Kong.

His teaching interests include quantitative analysis, data management and research

methodology, and he has previously assisted Professor Harding in teaching a master’s

level course on international politics using the U.S.-China relationship as a case.

Bill’s office hours are Fridays from 2.00 to 4.00 in Room 3005.