Underlying Patterns of American Arms Sales to China
Abstract
We are now in the seventh year of American military exports to China--exports which began in 1981 as a result of an overall liberalization of U.S. trade policy toward Beijing and continued in 1986 with the signing of a multi-million dollar avionics package to upgrade the Chinese F-8 air defense interceptor. The purpose of this essay is to describe the patterns of trade that emerged during these years, analyze the reasons for these patterns, and forecast insofar as possible the likelihood of their persistence for the remainder of this century. Until the 1980s China was proscribed by U.S. policy from receiving any military items whatsoever. Americans had spilled blood in combat against Chinese forces in Korea, had fought in part to contain China in a long and bitter war in Vietnam, and were not about to assist militarily a real or potential enemy. By the late 1970s, however, what had begun years earlier with the Sino-Soviet split and the subsequent opening to China under the Nixon Administration, crystallized into a major strategic realignment of China. Beijing not only normalized relations with the United States and other Western nations, but also further distanced itself from Moscow in wide areas of human endeavor-political, economic and military. These sweeping changes soon impacted strongly on American arms transfer policy. In March 1980, the Department of State issued Munitions Control Newsletter No. 81 (MC81), opening the People's Republic of China for the first time to exports of combat support equipment such as trucks, recovery vehicles, certain cargo/personnel-type aircraft and helicopters, some training and communications equipment, and airborne cameras.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1987
- Accession Number
- ADA497047
Entities
People
- Henry J. Kenny
Organizations
- Defense Security Cooperation Agency