Chinese Perception of the US – Exploring China’s Foreign Policy Motivations
CHINESE PERCEPTION OF THE US – EXPLORING CHINA’S FOREIGN POLICY MOTIVATIONS

Summary/Abstract: This paper tries to explore China’s foreign policy motivations vis-à-vis theUnited States in the 1990s and in the current period. This research indicates thatin terms of national interest, China’s dominant inclinations toward the US in the1990s were appeasement and cooperation. The findings regarding the perceptionsof American economy and politics indicate that when national interest was notdirectly involved, for the Chinese the great differences between the US and Chineseeconomic and political systems would not necessarily lead to conflict between thetwo countries and would rather provide a basis for cooperation. In the 1990s, thedominant images of the US in China were as follows: a partner, a role model, animperialist power. All these images support the proposition that China was a statusquo power. This paper tries to explore China’s motivation toward the United Statesin the current period via case studies and literature survey. The two cases studiedare the South China Sea disputes and the Chinese proposal of forging a ‘New Typeof Great Power Relations’ between the US and China. These two cases suggestthat currently the United States is perceived in China mainly as a partner andan imperialist power. The behavioural implications of these two images are thatpromoting cooperation and avoiding confrontation remain China’s foreign policymotivation regarding the United States. This conclusion is supported by a surveyof relevant documents and academic literature.

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