ABSTRACT
China's policies, like those of other nations, are shaped by a multiplicity of attitudes, forces, and factors. Ideological beliefs clearly have a significant influence on the Chinese leaders' world views and strategic prescriptions, expecially regarding long-term goals. Domestic politics and debates determine many foreign policy decisions in China, as elsewhere. The major shifts in China's overall foreign policy can best be understood in terms of changes in the Peking leaders' perception of external threats and in their strategic decisions on how best to cope with such threats. It is also likely that China—because of its military inferiority—will continue to be very vulnerable to threats from the other major powers; that Chinese leaders will continue to be acutely sensitive to this fact; and that to try to compensate for their relative military weakness they will probably continue pursuing a balance-of-power strategy of some sort.
