消除中美关系正常化的障碍——卡特政府对中美资产索赔问题的处理

Eliminating Obstacles to Normalize the Sino-U.S.Relations:The Carter Administration's Settlement of Claims/Assets Problem

中美资产索赔问题的解决是中美关系正常化进程中的一个重要事件。卡特政府处理资产索赔问题时,在分析和借鉴尼克松政府失败经验的基础上,审时度势,从试探到首脑谈判,再到高层交涉,最终成功与中国政府签署解决协议。中美资产索赔问题的解决过程凸显了中美关系正常化进程中,卡特政府对中美关系正常化决策的复杂考虑,以及对是选择先建交,还是先恢复中美正常的经贸关系问题的抉择过程。就中美经贸关系正常化进程而言,一方面,中美两国对促进经贸关系的需要加速了资产索赔问题的解决;另一方面,资产索赔问题的谈判过程和最终解决也推进了中美两国在其它经贸问题上的合作。但中美资产索赔问题的解决对中美贸易合作的促进作用十分有限。

The problem of private claims and blocked assets of China and USA was a significant issue in the normalization of the Sino-US relationship.When dealing with the Claims/assets problem,the Carter administration studied the failure of the Nixon administration,reviewed the situation,and finally signed the agreement with China.The resolution process of the problem revealed the Carter Administration’s complex considerations on its decision of normalizing the Sino-U.S.Relations.It also shows that the Carter Administration faced a difficult choice of whether to establish the diplomatic relations first,or to restore the economic and trade relations first.Promoting the economic and trade relations accelerated the resolution of Claims/Assets problem.Meanwhile,the final settlement of Claims/Assets problem also promoted other forms of economic and trade cooperation between the two counties.However,it played a limited role in promoting the Sino-U.S.trade cooperation.