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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:
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.