The pragmatic dragon: China's grand strategy and boundary settlements

Abstract

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 neighbours. In this wide-ranging study of China's boundary disputes and settlements, Eric Hyer finds the PRC's territorial negotiations were pragmatic and strategic, with China demonstrating willingness to compromise. The Pragmatic Dragon analyses 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.