ABSTRACT
The United States (US) role and new US policy in East Asia are consistent with the US’ hopes for long-term developments in East Asia. Bader’s statement contains a comprehensive statement of the current status of the US policy of ‘comprehensive engagement’ toward China. Cooperation in seeking solutions to regional security issues while avoiding direct military confrontation is a major part of the US objective. Trade is a further area of cooperation and tension between the Chinese and US governments. The US administration will continue to press for improvement in China’s performance on human rights. The individual Chinese has more personal latitude than has perhaps ever been the case in China. In China, participation in American foreign policy will require great unity and coherence of policy from a polity, whether authoritarian or incipiently democratic, which is seeking to guide a very large country through a difficult transition to modernity.
