Actors, coalitions, and the making of foreign security policy: US strategic trade with the people's Republic of China

In light of the intertwining logics of military competition and economic interdependence at play in Sino-American relations, this paper examines how the United States has balanced conflicting national security and economic interests in the making of US export control policy on defenserelated technology toward China. Relying upon a large body of primary sources (including 170 interviews), it seeks to contribute to the understanding of this strategically sensitive yet neglected area of Sino-American relations. It is shown that, as a consequence of the erosion of the US capacity to control the diffusion of defense-related technology to China in the post-Cold War era, a growing set of actors within the United States has reassessed the security/economic calculus in Washington's relationship with Beijing. Specifically, this coalition advocates the streamlining of export controls to sustain the defense and technological industrial base and thereby maintain American military/technological preeminence vis-à-vis a rising China.