The U.S. Foreign Policy Debate in the Context of Presidential Election and the Trend of China-U.S. Relations

The U.S. Foreign Policy Debate in the Context of Presidential Election and the Trend of China-U.S. Relations

CIIS Annual CIIS Research Project (2012)

Chairperson: Ruan Zongze

Duration: April 2012 to April 2013

Introduction：

This year is the presidential election year in the United States. The U.S. government and its people will have a systematic assessment and reflection on the Obama administration’s foreign policy in the past four years, and make a plan for the country’s future foreign policy. The presidential candidates from the two major parties, the Democratic Party and the Republican Party, will debate with each other on issues relating to the U.S. foreign policy and put forward their tentative ideas on future U.S. foreign policy. In order to find the mainstream orientations of the U.S. foreign policy, the project team will closely follow the foreign policy debate between the presidential candidates during the election, compare their foreign policy plans and study the responses of public opinions to the debate. Moreover, the project team will also analyze the impact of the presidential election on U.S. foreign policy and explore the orientations of the upcoming administration’s foreign policy, especially its Asia policy.