The push for economic modernization is a key determinant of China's foreign policy. Investment, technology and trade, rather than ideology, now tend to condition its relationships. The other, often interlinked factor, is China's desire to secure regional stability.
China has moved quickly to establish diplomatic links with the states of the former Soviet Union, and vigorous trade is developing across China's northern border. On the Korean peninsula, China has acted to restrain North Korea while deepening ties with Seoul. Relations with Vietnam have been normalized and links with Japan are growing, despite China's suspicions about Tokyo's intentions toward ASEAN. Toward Taiwan, China is currently pursuing a "one country, two systems" approach as a basis for reunification.
Relations with the West are still overcast by the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre. Relations with the USA, a major export market, are particularly tense. Beijing resents the need to have China's Most Favored Nation (MFN) status confirmed each year by Washington and considers unacceptable US attempts to link MFN to progress on human rights. Relations with the UK are dominated by Hong Kong, and have been strained by London's plans to increase democracy in the colony before handing it back to China in 1997.
