ABSTRACT
In general economic relations with the People's Republic of China (PRC) have remained largely of secondary importance in the evolution of US China policy. US-PRC economic relations emerged in the early 1970s as the Nixon administration began to dismantle the trade embargo against China and other impediments to US-PRC trade. With the rehabilitation of Vice Premier Deng Xiaoping in mid-1977 and the start of a series of pragmatic political and economic reforms associated with him in 1978, China's approach to foreign trade changed substantially. Settlement of the issues of Chinese assets blocked in the United States and US private claims against the PRC was required before certain steps in US-PRC commercial relations could be taken. The adoption and implementation of innovative economic policies— many on an experimental basis—increased throughout 1979 and 1980. The PRC seemed likely to gain some increased revenues from remittances of Chinese who permanently resided abroad, tourism, and other commercial activities.
