The Pragmatic Dragon: China's Grand Strategy and Boundary Settlements (Contemporary Chines Studies)

China shares borders and asserts vast maritime claims with over a dozen countries, and it has had boundary disputes with nearly all of them. Yet in the 1960s, while China was embroiled in a growing confrontation with the Soviet Union, India, and the United States, Beijing moved to peacefully settle ongoing boundary disputes with its neighbors. In this wide-ranging study of China’s boundary disputes and settlements, Eric Hyer finds its territorial negotiations were pragmatic and strategic, with China demonstrating willingness to compromise. The Pragmatic Dragon analyzes each dispute and the strategy behind it, providing important insights into the foreign policy of a nation whose presence on the world stage continues to grow.