The Importance of Geopolitics in Sino-American Relations

The 1990s policy of Deng Xiaoping is not one that inherently can be explained in geopolitical terms. The idea that zones of influence will prove the best way to manage the transition in Sino-American relations appeals to realists but does not capture the range of factors involved in global politics, nor the pressures arising from these factors. If geopolitics is seen along the line of H.J. McKinder's adage, who controls the heartland, commands the world island, then it can be too general and vague for rhetorical purposes.