ABSTRACT
Beijing's rapid establishment of simultaneous good relations with Washington and Tokyo in diplomatic, economic, and, security matters has given the appearance of a new triangular relationship between Washington, Beijing, and Tokyo. There are two major triangular relationships in contemporary world politics: Washington-Moscow-Beijing and the United States (US)-European Economic Community-Japan. The low-impact school is of the opinion that "the US relations with China have had and are likely to have little direct impact on the USSR. They are more resentful of those schools that hold that China is an insignificant factor in the great powers triangular relationship or that Washington should treat Moscow and Beijing equally. In the global triangular relationship between Washington, Moscow, and Beijing, China made considerable gains by promoting better relations with Washington and as a result of the worsening of the Soviet-American relationship in 1979-1980. The China card gives the Soviet Union a new incentive to avoid creating new tensions and thus driving Washington closer to Beijing.
