Chinese Perception of American Intentions

When it comes to US intentions towards China, Beijing usually harbors the worst-case scenario, and for good reasons too, according to David M. Finkelstein.

In his article National Missile Defence and China's Current Security Perception (2001), most incidents, mishaps and mistakes between Washington and Beijing "tend to take on the ominous strategic calculation on the part of the Americans" and that "conspiratorial explanations are never hard to find."

These include the 1999 bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, and the 2001 EP-3 incident. Also included was the view held by many Chinese analysts that the US intelligence had forewarning of India's nuclear detonation in 1998 but chose not to share the information with China, hence "proving tacit US approval as part of a greater plan to contain via India."

"Small wonder that it is difficult to convince Beijing that NMD (National Missile Defence) is not "really" aimed primarily at China," Finkelstein wrote.