US Abstracts

Panel 6: Missile Defense and Confidence-Building Measures

Coping with a New Era in US-China Strategic Nuclear Relations Through Confidence-Building and Strategic Stability

Bates Gill

The author argues that the current Sino-US relationship is in a period of uncertainty, in which bilateral strategic-nuclear relationship is undergoing fundamental changes. The future Sino-US strategic relationship will unfold in the presence of US efforts to research and develop missile defense and China's robust military modernization. The Sino-US strategic relationship, more than ever, needs official and unofficial measures to ease the growing tension. Potential measures could include unilateral statements, bilateral dialogue, information sharing, limitations, and other cooperative measures. These measures could help to address some of the Chinese concerns associated with US missile defense programs.

Bates Gill is Senior Fellow in Foreign Policy Studies and the Director of the Center for Northeast Asian Policy Studies at the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC.

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