The politics of the strategic triangle: The U.S., COCOM, and export controls on China, 1979–1989

Abstract

This article documents and analyzes the evolution of the so-called “china differential” in the 1980s whereby the United States and its COCOM allies accorded a more favorable export control policy toward China than the one they continued to impose on the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. At the same time, a limited Sino-U.S. military relationship evolved, resulting in increased bilateral defense-related exchanges and American arms sales to China. The author argues that the development of the “China differential” was clearly influenced by considerations of the strategic triangle and that the relaxation of restrictions on technology transfer to China was meant to serve broader U.S. politico-strategic objectives of containing Soviet expansionism and enhancing its power position vis-à-vis that of the Soviet Union.