China from a U.S. Policy Perspective

In this book, Eric J. Heikkila explores a truly important question that has not been adequately analyzed to date: how the rise of China alters the context in which the broad spectrum of policies in the United States should be assessed. Here, the policy domain of the U.S. government is carved into three broad spheres: economic policies: fiscal policy and deficits, trade policy, and employment and income sustainability policies: climate change, urban policy, and energy policy geopolitical policies: homeland security, defense policy, and foreign relations.

For each domain, Heikkila assesses the key policy issues and tradeoffs, examining how the balance of such tradeoffs shifts due to China’s rise. In doing so, he demonstrates how a rising China exerts its gravitation pull on U.S. policy, not so much through lobbying or negotiation, but through the very nature of its being. A concluding chapter presents a workable synthesis derived from these diverse perspectives.

At a time of increasing tensions, it is all the more important for U.S. policy makers to focus on the many substantive policy questions that are impacted by China’s rise. China from a U.S. Policy Perspective will be of key interest to scholars, practitioners, and students of policy analysis, U.S. politics, Chinese politics, and International Relations.