ABSTRACT
Many people were surprised at the speed with which the People’s Republic of
China (PRC) moved to support the coalition against terrorism led by the United
States after the attacks on New York and Washington on September 11th 2001.
Relations between China and the USA had been strained for some time: US
aircraft had bombed the Chinese embassy in Belgrade and many in China still
believe that this was not an accident; Chinese-American scientists had been
accused of passing nuclear secrets to China; a US reconnaissance plane had
made a forced landing on the island of Hainan after a mid-air crash with a
Chinese fighter aircraft; and the thorny issue of American support for Taiwan’s
anti-missile defences remained.
