Our series of interviews with top U.S. policy makers of the last 30 years has revealed how and why the American approach towards China has morphed from seeking closer ties to a desire for estrangement.
Illustration by Sam Ward
Twenty-five years ago, Charlene Barshefsky, the tough-as-nails U.S. Trade Representative, negotiated China’s entry into the World Trade Organization. The deal was bound to be a winner for America, Barshefsky and the rest of the Clinton administration believed, because it tied China more closely to the U.S. and the West.
Shi Guangshen, then Chinese foreign trade minister, signs documents for China’s accession to the WTO in Doha, November 11, 2001. Credit: WTO
“The fundamenta
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