China-U.S. Relations: Current Issues and Implications for U.S. Policy
Abstract
The bilateral relationship between the United States and the People's Republic of China (PRC) is vitally important, touching on a wide range of areas, including economic policy, security, foreign relations, and human rights. U.S. and PRC interests are bound together much more closely now than even a few years ago. These extensive inter-linkages have made it increasingly difficult for either government to take unilateral actions without inviting far-reaching, unintended consequences. The George W. Bush Administration addressed these increasing inter-linkages by engaging with China, regularizing bilateral contacts and cooperation, and minimizing differences. The Administration of President Barack Obama has inherited not only more extensive policy mechanisms for pursuing U.S.-China policy, but a more complex and multifaceted relationship in which the stakes are higher and in which U.S. action may increasingly be constrained. Economically, the United States and the PRC have become symbiotically intertwined. China is the second-largest U.S. trading partner, the second largest holder of U.S. securities, and the largest holder of U.S. Treasuries used to finance the federal budget deficit, positioning the PRC to play a crucial role in the Obama Administration's plans to address the recession and the deteriorating U.S. financial system. Meanwhile, other bilateral problems provide a continuing set of diverse challenges. They include difficulties over the status and well-being of Taiwan, ongoing disputes over China's failure to protect U.S. intellectual property rights, the economic advantage China gains from not floating its currency, and growing concerns about the quality and safety of exported PRC products. This report addresses relevant policy questions in current U.S.-China relations, discusses trends and key legislation in the current Congress, and provides a chronology of developments and high-level exchanges.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 10, 2009
- Accession Number
- ADA503193
Entities
People
- Kerry Dumbaugh
Organizations
- Library of Congress