China‐U.S. Trade Negotiations

This study analyzes Chinese‐American negotiations by examining the predispositions of negotiations from both countries. Specifically, a mail questionnaire was sent to experienced American and Chinese negotiators to assess how successful their negotiations had been and to determine what the major obstacles were to successful negotiations. Both Chinese and Americans felt that they had been reasonably successful in getting the terms of agreement they desired. Both sides also agreed that there were obstacles. Interestingly, these obstacles seemed to be rooted in differences in economic systems and negotiating assumptions rather than being based on language and cultural differences.