The Eisenhower administration's fear of empowering the Chinese

Political Science Quarterly

Volumn 111, Issue 3, 1996, Pages 505-521

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EID: 0040204056     PISSN: 00323195     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.2307/2151973     Document Type: Article

References (61)

1. See, for example, Nancy Bernkopf Tucker, "Cold War Contacts: America and China, 1952-1956" in Harry Harding and Yuan Ming, eds., Sino-American Relations, 1945-1955 A Joint Reassessment of a Critical Decade (Wilmington, DE: Scholarly Resources, Inc, 1989); and Tucker, "John Foster Dulles and the Taiwan Roots of the "'Two Chinas' Policy" in Richard H. Immerman, ed., John Foster Dulles and the Diplomacy of the Cold War, (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1990); John Lewis Gaddis, "The American Wedge Strategy" in Handing and Yuan, eds., Sino-American Relations.
2. See, for example, Nancy Bernkopf Tucker, "Cold War Contacts: America and China, 1952-1956" in Harry Harding and Yuan Ming, eds., Sino-American Relations, 1945-1955 A Joint Reassessment of a Critical Decade (Wilmington, DE: Scholarly Resources, Inc, 1989); and Tucker, "John Foster Dulles and the Taiwan Roots of the "'Two Chinas' Policy" in Richard H. Immerman, ed., John Foster Dulles and the Diplomacy of the Cold War, (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1990); John Lewis Gaddis, "The American Wedge Strategy" in Handing and Yuan, eds., Sino-American Relations.
3. See, for example, Nancy Bernkopf Tucker, "Cold War Contacts: America and China, 1952-1956" in Harry Harding and Yuan Ming, eds., Sino-American Relations, 1945-1955 A Joint Reassessment of a Critical Decade (Wilmington, DE: Scholarly Resources, Inc, 1989); and Tucker, "John Foster Dulles and the Taiwan Roots of the "'Two Chinas' Policy" in Richard H. Immerman, ed., John Foster Dulles and the Diplomacy of the Cold War, (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1990); John Lewis Gaddis, "The American Wedge Strategy" in Handing and Yuan, eds., Sino-American Relations.
4. An elucidation of the concept of structural power may be found in Susan Strange, "The Persistent Myth of Lost Hegemony," International Organization 41 (Autumn 1987).
5. U.S. Department of State, Foreign Relations of the United States, 1955-1957 [hereafter FRUS] vol. iii, China, (Washington, DC.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1986), August 2 1955, 3.
6. FRUS, 1955-1957, vol. iii, August 5, 1955, 16-17.
7. U. Alexis Johnson has confirmed that at first, Dulles himself sent instructions directly. As meetings became less frequent, Herman Phleger, the State Department's legal adviser, became more prominent. Johnson, The Right Hand of Power (Englewood Cliffs, NJ.: Prentice Hall, 1984), 247.
8. FRUS, 1955-1957, vol. iii, September 2, 1955, 75.
9. Foreign Office File (FO) 371/115010 September 5, 1955, Public Record Office, (PRO) London; See also Robert B. Ekvall, Faithful Echo (New York: Twayne Publishers, 1960), 90-91. Ekvall was employed as an interpreter at the talks for the U.S. side. The word "expeditiously" had, he explained in his memoirs, "connotations of efficacy and efficient action," whereas the Chinese text proposed the compound "chin-su" which only meant "utmost speed."
10. FRUS, 1955-1957, iii, September 7, 1955, 73-80.
11. Ibid., December 1, 1955, 194; Record Group (RG) 59, Bureau of Far Eastern Affairs, Subject Files, 1956, Box 1, Lot 58D3, "Basic Documents on Renunciation of Force Issue at Geneva Talks," (Washington DC: National Archive's [NA] ND).
12. Ibid., December 1, 1955, 194; Record Group (RG) 59, Bureau of Far Eastern Affairs, Subject Files, 1956, Box 1, Lot 58D3, "Basic Documents on Renunciation of Force Issue at Geneva Talks," (Washington DC: National Archive's [NA] ND).
13. FRUS, 1955-1957, iii, December 6, 1955, n. 3; RG 59, "Basic Documents," NA.
14. FRUS, 1955-1957, iii, December 6, 1955, n. 3; RG 59, "Basic Documents," NA.
15. FRUS, 1955-1957, iii, March 1, 1956, 317 and April 19, 1956, 353, n. 2. Interestingly, according to a U.S. public opinion poll recorded in British documents, a majority of U.S. citizens (54 percent) supported the idea of meetings at the foreign minister level. FO371/127289, February 28, 1957, PRO.
16. FRUS, 1955-1957, Microfiche Supplement, fiche 22, letter to U. Alexis Johnson, July 20, 1956.
17. Ibid., iii, August 22, 1957, 584-585, editorial note, and September 11, 1957, 600-601.
18. Ibid., October 1, 1956, 432-433.
19. Ibid., November 20, 1957, 639 and November 29, 1957, 643-44. Note that Robertson even toyed with the idea of sending the ex-ambassador to the Republic of China to Geneva, (Karl Lott Rankin), a man who was known as strongly sympathetic toward Chiang Kai-shek.
20. Ibid., December 12, 1957, 657-59, esp. n. 3; RG 59, Records of the Office of Chinese Affairs, Subject Files, 1957, Box 4, Lot 60D648, December 1957, NA.
21. RG 59, Records of the Bureau of Far Eastern Affairs, 1955, Lot 60D514, Box 1, Opening Statement by Secretary of State, Chiefs of Mission Conference, Tokyo, 19 March 1956, NA.
22. For a detailed discussion of Eisenhower's attitude toward trading with the PRC, see Qing Simei, "The Eisenhower Administration and Changes in Western Embargo Policy Against China" in Warren I. Cohen and Akira Iriye, eds., The Great Powers in East Asia, 1953-1960 (New York: Columbia University Press, 1990).
23. FRUS, 1955-1959, iii, December 22, 1955, 228; ibid, xxvii, March 20, 1957, 707-08.
24. FRUS, 1955-1959, iii, December 22, 1955, 228; ibid, xxvii, March 20, 1957, 707-08.
25. Tucker, "Taiwan Roots of the Two Chinas' Policy" in Immerman, ed., Dulles and the Diplomacy of the Cold War, 236; and Tucker, "A House Divided: the United States, the Department of State, and China" in Cohen and Iriye, eds., Great Powers, 36.
26. Tucker, "Taiwan Roots of the Two Chinas' Policy" in Immerman, ed., Dulles and the Diplomacy of the Cold War, 236; and Tucker, "A House Divided: the United States, the Department of State, and China" in Cohen and Iriye, eds., Great Powers, 36.
27. RG 59, Bureau of Far Eastern Affairs, Box 1, Lot 58D3, August 1, 1955, NA; FRUS, 1955-1957, iii, August 2, 1955, 10-11; October 19, 1955, 131-132.
28. RG 59, Bureau of Far Eastern Affairs, Box 1, Lot 58D3, August 1, 1955, NA; FRUS, 1955-1957, iii, August 2, 1955, 10-11; October 19, 1955, 131-132.
29. John Lewis Gaddis, "Dividing Adversaries: The United States and International Communism, 1945-1958" in his The Long Peace: Inquiries into the History of the Cold War (New York: Oxford University Press, 1987), 148; see also his, "American 'Wedge' Strategy," 167-68.
30. John Lewis Gaddis, "Dividing Adversaries: The United States and International Communism, 1945-1958" in his The Long Peace: Inquiries into the History of the Cold War (New York: Oxford University Press, 1987), 148; see also his, "American 'Wedge' Strategy," 167-68.
31. Anna K. Nelson, "John Foster Dulles and the Bipartisan Congress," Political Science Quarterly 102 (Spring 1987): esp. 43-44, 48-49, 64.
32. FRUS, 1955-1957, iii, January 31, 1956, 292.
33. Gaddis, "American 'Wedge' Strategy," 173.
34. FO 371/127290, August 13, 1957, PRO. For an interesting argument to the effect that in the late 1950s, the Eisenhower administration had come to argue that Sino-Soviet divisions were more likely to arise out of Soviet-American cooperation than pressure on China, see Gordon H. Chang, Friends and Enemies: the United States, China, and the Soviet Union 1948-1972 (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1990), esp. chap. 6.
35. See, for example FRUS 1952-1954, xiv, November 6, 1953, 279 and November 23, 1954, 933.
36. Ibid., xiv, 1952-54, December 1, 1954, 973; ibid., III, January 31, 1956. 291-292; FO 371/ 127239, 22 March 1957, PRO; FRUS, 1955-1957, III, February 18, 1957, 482.
37. Ibid., xiv, 1952-54, December 1, 1954, 973; ibid., III, January 31, 1956. 291-292; FO 371/ 127239, 22 March 1957, PRO; FRUS, 1955-1957, III, February 18, 1957, 482.
38. Ibid., xiv, 1952-54, December 1, 1954, 973; ibid., III, January 31, 1956. 291-292; FO 371/ 127239, 22 March 1957, PRO; FRUS, 1955-1957, III, February 18, 1957, 482.
39. Qing, "Eisenhower Administration," 125.
40. Dulles had written an article in Life Magazine entitled "A Policy of Boldness," 19 May 1952. Excerpt from Dulles's War or Peace quoted in the Washington Post, 5 March 1957, as part of its attempts to get the administration to reconsider its China policy. See, too, Immerman, "Introduction" to Immerman, ed., Dulles and the Diplomacy of the Cold War, 5. Dulles's world view is also elucidated in Ronald W. Pruessen, John Foster Dulles: The Road to Power (New York: the Free Press, 1982); and his chapter in Immerman, ed., "John Foster Dulles and the Predicaments of Power."
41. Dulles had written an article in Life Magazine entitled "A Policy of Boldness," 19 May 1952. Excerpt from Dulles's War or Peace quoted in the Washington Post, 5 March 1957, as part of its attempts to get the administration to reconsider its China policy. See, too, Immerman, "Introduction" to Immerman, ed., Dulles and the Diplomacy of the Cold War, 5. Dulles's world view is also elucidated in Ronald W. Pruessen, John Foster Dulles: The Road to Power (New York: the Free Press, 1982); and his chapter in Immerman, ed., "John Foster Dulles and the Predicaments of Power."
42. Dulles had written an article in Life Magazine entitled "A Policy of Boldness," 19 May 1952. Excerpt from Dulles's War or Peace quoted in the Washington Post, 5 March 1957, as part of its attempts to get the administration to reconsider its China policy. See, too, Immerman, "Introduction" to Immerman, ed., Dulles and the Diplomacy of the Cold War, 5. Dulles's world view is also elucidated in Ronald W. Pruessen, John Foster Dulles: The Road to Power (New York: the Free Press, 1982); and his chapter in Immerman, ed., "John Foster Dulles and the Predicaments of Power."
43. Dulles had written an article in Life Magazine entitled "A Policy of Boldness," 19 May 1952. Excerpt from Dulles's War or Peace quoted in the Washington Post, 5 March 1957, as part of its attempts to get the administration to reconsider its China policy. See, too, Immerman, "Introduction" to Immerman, ed., Dulles and the Diplomacy of the Cold War, 5. Dulles's world view is also elucidated in Ronald W. Pruessen, John Foster Dulles: The Road to Power (New York: the Free Press, 1982); and his chapter in Immerman, ed., "John Foster Dulles and the Predicaments of Power."
44. Dulles had written an article in Life Magazine entitled "A Policy of Boldness," 19 May 1952. Excerpt from Dulles's War or Peace quoted in the Washington Post, 5 March 1957, as part of its attempts to get the administration to reconsider its China policy. See, too, Immerman, "Introduction" to Immerman, ed., Dulles and the Diplomacy of the Cold War, 5. Dulles's world view is also elucidated in Ronald W. Pruessen, John Foster Dulles: The Road to Power (New York: the Free Press, 1982); and his chapter in Immerman, ed., "John Foster Dulles and the Predicaments of Power."
45. See, for example, the language of the unofficial State Department paper of August 1957: the PRC was a "dynamic regime" with expansionist aims. It exerted "constant pressure" against the surrounding areas. FO 371/128290, August 13, 1957, PRO; FO 371/141216, May 21, 1959, PRO. Rupert Wilkinson, The Pursuit of American Character (New York: Harper & Row, 1988), esp. 77.
46. FRUS, 1955-1957, iii, January 31, 1956, 291.
47. RG 59, Records of the Office of Chinese Affairs, 1957, Lot 60D648, Box 9, March 1957, NA.
48. FRUS, 1952-1954, xiv, China and Japan, 1984, "National Intelligence Estimates," November 23, 1954, 938; RG 59, Office of Chinese Affairs, Box 4, Lot 60D648, Chiefs of Mission Info. Series, no. 111, March 1957, NA; RG 59, Records of the Office of Chinese Affairs, 1954-56, Box 18, Lot 60D171, letter to Senator L.B. Johnson, 22 May 1956, NA.
49. RG 59, R and A Reports, Country File, IR 6909, 20 May 1955, NA.
50. FRUS, 1955-1957, iii, 231-255. As Dulles once put it, the West's position was "not one of depth" in the area. FO 371/127239, 22 March 1957, PRO.
51. RG 59, Office of Chinese Affairs, Lot 60D648, Box 2, January 1957, NA.
52. See, for example, Zhou's statement to the "heads of mission" in Beijing, 11 November 1957 in F0371/127290, PRO.
53. RG 59, Office of Chinese Affairs, Lot 60D648, Box 4, March 1957, NA.
54. FO 371/127289, February 19, 1957, FO 371/127239, January 18, 1957 and February 6, 1957, PRO.
55. FRUS, 1955-1957, iii, June 28, 1957, 558-566.
56. Ibid., June 28, 1957, 558, n. 2.
57. Declassified Documents Reference System, Research Publications, Woodbridge, CT: no. 1286 (1983), "U.S. Policy in the Far East," 10 November 1960, reaffirming policy conclusions in NSC 5913/1, 25 September 1959; FO 371/141216, October 10, 1959 and February 26, 1960, PRO.
58. FO 371/141263, June 22, 1959, PRO.
59. The British acquired a copy of this report and were pleased to discover that it mirrored many of the views they had expressed. FO 371/141216, 10 November 1959, PRO. For example, the British commissioner general in South East Asia had argued in 1957 that change would only truly affect Nationalist China. The Indians and Japanese would be relieved, he stated, and the most the Indonesians would do would be to gloat a little. FO 371/127290, 11 November 1957, PRO.
60. FRUS, 1955-1957, August 8, 1957, 579, n. 3.
61. I am thinking here of how the Nixon administration watched the polls for evidence of increased popularity after the Nixon trip (the president's rating rose to 56 percent in March 1972, the highest popularity rating in fourteen months) and of the belief of that administration that an opening to China would increase its leverage with the Soviet Union and with the North Vietnamese, and facilitate its withdrawal from the conflict in Indochina.