Salt on the Dragon

Chinese Views of the Soviet-American Strategic Balance

Michael Pillsbury

Expert InsightsPublished 1975

Discusses the policy implications of Chinese perceptions about SALT and the strategic military balance between the Soviet Union and the United States. For Peking, apparent American concessions in SALT could inadvertently inflate Chinese suspicions of Soviet-American "collusion." Peking believes that essential equivalence of Soviet-American forces can never be attained because Moscow will always seek to overthrow it. Peking's official statements have indicated three major reversals of the U.S.-USSR strategic relationship. After Sputnik, Mao Tse-tung proclaimed the military superiority of the socialist camp. The second reversal in 1965 occurred as Peking's media described growing Soviet-American "collusion" and a Soviet-American nuclear military alliance aimed against China. The third shift began slowly after 1968 when China again saw contention between Moscow and Washington and dropped the "collusion" theme. Peking seems to desire a militarily strong United States able to withstand aggressive Soviet pressure.

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Pillsbury, Michael, Salt on the Dragon: Chinese Views of the Soviet-American Strategic Balance. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 1975. https://www.rand.org/pubs/papers/P5457.html.
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