ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses an assessment of American perceptions of China and Japan, and Chinese and Japanese perceptions of the United States. Cultural and geopolitical connections with Europe have dictated a distinctly European perspective to American foreign and national security policy. Equally important, the demise of colonial empires and the concomitant rise of independent states throughout Asia and the Far East created a new security environment. The foreign policy of China is closely linked to the factional struggles among the leaders of the Communist Party of China. Chairman Mao Tse-tung's real position on the China-United States-Soviet triangular relationship was difficult to ascertain because of the lack of reliable data. The new Chinese leadership is concerned with the present administration's Chinese policy, envisioning a regression of Sino-American relations under the Carter administration. The Hua-Teng leadership in China is unhappy with the Carter administration's unwillingness to abandon Taiwan and its appeasement of the Soviet Union.
