Pragmatic Presence: US Policy and Hong Kong's Transition‪.‬

Douglas Bereuter is a member of the US House of Representatives and Chair of the House Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific. Perhaps the most daunting foreign policy challenge for the United States in the twenty-first century is to coax China into becoming a full participant in the international community. If Beijing practices self-restraint and the international community, including the United States, exercises appropriate diplomacy, the People's Republic of China (PRC) can become a responsible member of that community. Should Beijing's leaders and the international community fail, the consequences for international security, global tranquillity, and the 1.2 billion people living in China would be devastating. As the world's only remaining superpower, the United States has an important role to play in this difficult, but not exclusively American, task. For example, over a dozen countries are wrestling with China over the terms of its accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO).