ABSTRACT
The accidental U.S. bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade in 1999 plunged Sino-American relations to their lowest point since 1972. Angry Chinese protesters who marched at the American embassy in Beijing demonstrated the rising antiAmerican sentiments within Chinese society as well as the difficulty the Beijing leadership faced when making their policies towards the United States. Despite the repeated apologies made by American leaders, the Chinese government simply dismissed the American explanation as unacceptable. China ceased talks with the U.S. over human rights, arms control, and most importantly, World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations. The United States had been encouraging China to join the WTO since the mid-1980s, but negotiations between Washington and Beijing were deadlocked over the contentious issue of China’s membership status. While China sought to enter the WTO as a developing country, the United States insisted that it join as a developed country, which would have allowed for a shorter period of adjustment before Beijing opened its lucrative market to American products. China’s WTO negotiations were in a stalemate until the spring of 1999. On the eve of Premier Zhu’s visit to America, Beijing suddenly demonstrated its readiness to strike a deal for its WTO membership. President Clinton, however, failed to seize the opportunity and Zhu left Washington empty-handed even after making significant concessions to U.S. demands. In the summer and fall following the bombing, Washington attempted to bring the Chinese back to the WTO negotiation table; but their efforts were met with no avail. Then suddenly in October, Chinese leaders agreed to resume WTO talks, and within weeks, they had reached a historic agreement with the U.S.
