ABSTRACT
John Hay’s note on open-door policy can be regarded as the first U.S. quasi-policy toward China after which the two countries entered a stage of direct dealings with each other. Apart from realpolitik considerations, Sino-U.S. relations have been characterized by the impact of both sides’ ideological traditions. The hundred-year history of Sino-U.S. rela tions have been permeated with the interflow and clash of ideas; however, it should be pointed out that from the outset the interflow of ideas was by no means even, rather, it has been a one-way track with American ideas exerting influence on China and seldom vice versa.
