ABSTRACT
Rescuing China from falling into communist hands through the dispatch of extensive military aid to the Chinese Nationalist forces became an important aim of the Truman administration before 1949. After the establishment of the People's Republic of China, the US pressed the CoCom member countries to refuse to export the most basic of items such as steel rails for rebuilding its destroyed rail system. The US argued that the delivery of one shipment of rails would be of greater benefit proportionally to China than if the same shipment was made to a Soviet bloc country. The Korean War converted China into an even greater enemy for the Americans when Chinese troops joined the war after it appeared that the US-led United Nations forces might threaten the stability of the North Korean border. The American officials were convinced that the Chinese were receiving supplies from the West and the US navy, in its monitoring of European shipping sailing to Chinese ports, accused the British of violating the embargo. This was denied by the British then occupied in retaining its commercial links with its Crown Colony of Hong Kong. The US officials oversaw the establishment of an offshoot of CoCom known as Chincom in September 1952. This comprised members involved in the China trade such as Japan and Britain and was designed to enforce an even tougher regime on exports to the PRC by Western countries. Nevertheless, Western exports to
186 Conclusio/l
China increased, particularly from Germany. The list of items embargoed from export to China was much longer than the embargo list for the Soviet Union, and the difference between the two lists was known as the 'China differential'. This 'differential' was continually opposed by the Japanese who challenged its continuation at various times by threatening to withdraw from CoCom. China's involvement in the Vietnam War troubled the US officials, but by 1970 the Nixon administration had established a dialogue with the Chinese govemment and President Nixon visited there in February 1972. Nomlal diplomatic relations were established and the US administration made moves to introduce easier travel visa and financial arrangements for China.
