Richard H. Solomon

Charles W. Freeman

After two decades of hostile confrontation, China and the United States initiated negotiations in the early 1970s to normalize relations. Senior officials of the Nixon, Ford, Carter, and Reagan administrations had little experience dealing with the Chinese, but they soon learned that their counterparts from the People's Republic were skilled negotiators. This study of Chinese negotiating behavior explores the ways senior officials of the PRC--Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, Deng Xiaoping, and others--managed these high-level political negotiations with their new American "old friends." It follows the negotiating process step by step, and concludes with guidelines for dealing with Chinese officials. Originally written for the RAND Corporation, this study was classified because it drew on the official negotiating record. It was subsequently declassified, and RAND published the study in 1995. For this edition, Solomon has added a new introduction, and Chas Freeman has written an interpretive essay describing the ways in which Chinese negotiating behavior has, and has not, changed since the original study. The bibiliography has been updated as well.

Pursuing Interests Through "old Friends"

Chinese Negotiating Behavior

Michael J. Green

The negotiations held under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Copenhagen in December 2009 fell well short of global expectations. The UNFCCC process is intended to reach an agreement in which near-term national interests are set aside in the interest of future generations of the world as a whole. Concluding a successful UNFCCC process would therefore require the leaderships participating countries to exercise considerable political courage. Indeed, the result of the COP 15 seems to have its roots less in the science of climate change or in disagreements over appropriate methodologies to reduce global GHG emissions and more in a highly complex interplay of domestic politics carried out on a global stage. The inability of countries to resolve the most contentious issues pertaining to global action on climate change raises the question of whether the UNFCCC framework will work as the main negotiating forum for achieving further progress on mitigating global climate change. Whether other frameworks at the regional or global level may be better suited to forge consensus on key issues depends on the domestic politics surrounding climate change issues in key participating countries.

The Politics of Climate Change in Asia : a Report of the CSIS Asian Regionalism Initiative

Green Dragons

In this comprehensive treatment, distinguished diplomat Chas Freeman describes the fundamental principles of the art of statecraft and the craft of diplomacy. The book draws on the author's years of experience as a practicing diplomat but also his extensive reading of the histories of ancient India, China, Greece, Rome, Byzantium, and the Islamic world as well as modern Europe, Asia, and the Americas. Among numerous other subjects, the book addresses the role of intelligence, political actions, cultural influence, economic measures, and military power, as well as diplomatic strategy and tactics, negotiation, and the tasks and skills of diplomacy.

Charles W. Freeman

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