Engaging China

Mel Gurtov is Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Portland State University. He previously was on the staff of the RAND Corporation, where he was an author of the Pentagon Papers, and then began his teaching career at the University of California, Riverside. He has written 30 books on China, US foreign policy, and international affairs, most recently America in Retreat: Foreign Policy under Donald Trump and Engaging Adversaries: Peacemaking and Diplomacy in the Human Interest, both published by Rowman & Littlefield. Dr. Gurtov is a former Senior Fulbright Scholar and is Senior Editor of Asian Perspective, which he served as Editor-in-Chief for over 20 years.He blogs at https://melgurtov.com, has a podcast, and broadcasts weekly foreign affairs commentary on radio stations in Portland and Florence, Oregon.

Gurtov argues that tensions between China and the United States since 2016 are partly the fault of both the Trump and Biden administrations and bipartisan Congressional actions, which have led to the demonization of China over issues like Taiwan, trade, COVID-19, genocidal polices in Xinjiang, and the crackdown on democracy proponents in Hong Kong. Although he takes China to task for its human rights violations, lack of transparency (especially during the pandemic), authoritarianism, and wolf warrior diplomacy, Gurtov urges the Biden administration to end its Cold War–like policies and attitudes. Biden should engage China with incentives instead of sanctions and return to high-level talks and Obama-era dialogue groups to achieve cooperation and agreement on numerous matters… Simultaneously, China needs to stop using “sovereignty” and “internal matters” as excuses when it sanctions, censors, and publicly denigrates any person or government that criticizes its policies and practices. Gurtov admits that engaging China might fail strategically, but it would clarify the playing field. Recommended. Undergraduates through faculty; professionals; general readers.

• Preface Chapter 1: What Engagement Means and Why It Matters Chapter 2: Understanding and Misunderstanding China Chapter 3: China’s World Chapter 4: China on the March, Forward and Backward Chapter 5: Managing Conflict in US-China Relations Chapter 6: Biden’s China Policy Chapter 7: Four Cases of US-China Competition Chapter 8: Engaging China Notes Bibliography