fallout of Taiwan President Lee Teng-hui's June 1995 visit to the United States has included a carefully calibrated PRC effort to cut off or suspend contacts and communications with the United States and Taiwan over a range of important policy questions. Prospects for a resumption of these contacts are unclear, especially since domestic politics in Beijing,

Chinese officials and opinion leaders claim that recent U.S. actions contrary to the interests of the People's Republic of China (PRC) have convinced the Beijing regime that the U.S. Government is determined to do what it can to weaken and hold back China's growing power. Dismissing evidence of often fractious debate over China policy in the United States, Beijing leaders are said to see a consensus among policymakers in the The United States that is directed at working against China's emerging strength and influence in world affairs. The U.S. specialists are unsure if Chinese leaders are misguided but sincere in their views, or if Chinese leaders are using anti-U.S. themes for tactical advantage in boosting their political standing at home, in seeking concessions from the United States, or as a defensive strategy to deflect criticism of Chinese actions seen by many international experts as bordering on irresponsible. Regardless of Chinese motives, some Americans urge that the United States make concessions and take steps to reassure Beijing of U.S. intentions and restore the wide range of U.S.-China contacts cut off as a result of U.S.-Chinese friction in recent weeks. Other Americans judge that U.S. interests would be better served by a …