ABSTRACT
The strong public reaction of congressional critics to Carter administration initiatives toward the People's Republic of China (PRC) clearly testified to the wide differences between the branches over Sino-American relations. Congressional sources offered several reasons why members of Congress were so concerned about being consulted before a shift in China policy. Many congressional officials were under the impression that US agreements with Taiwan, except for the defense treaty, would remain in effect after US-PRC normalization. The Carter administration's decision to move ahead quickly on US-PRC normalization without reference to Congress almost immediately caused serious difficulties for congressional-executive interaction over China policy. Given strong expressions of congressional interest in maintaining the security of Taiwan and in determining what kinds of American arms would be transferred to the island, some congressional officials thought that the administration should have consulted more closely with Congress about U.S.
