Patricia Kim: Developing Effective Negotiation Techniques with China

As China continues to evolve into a modern superpower, American policymakers are grappling with how to work with its leaders.

For Patricia Kim, a research fellow in the International Security Program, this challenge has occupied her thinking and research for much of the past year. Through her PhD dissertation at Princeton University, she is taking a hard look at effective negotiation tactics for dealing with an ambitious and rising China.

“Our dilemma is how we ‘shape’ China’s behavior when Chinese leaders are determined to carve their own path and not necessarily buy into international norms,” Kim says.

It is important to understand the Chinese government’s priorities, she argues—like its desire to preserve the party regime and prevent Taiwanese independence—in order to find ways to communicate to them that we comprehend these concerns. Doing so may allow U.S. leaders to find more success when negotiating with China about terrorism, nuclear proliferation, climate change, and other issues plaguing the world today. “When negotiations involve China’s core values, holding a bigger stick isn’t necessarily going to move them,” Kim says.

Persuasive diplomacy techniques, she argues, such as those used by George Bush to convince the Chinese to participate in the Six Party Talks in 2003, are more effective.

“We have to approach them and say, ‘We know you are a rising power and you want leadership, but let’s take that ambition and channel it in positive ways that can make your country’s rise more sustainable.’”

“There are so many policymakers and former policymakers who are thinking about diplomacy here at the Belfer Center,” Kim says. “I hope to contribute to that dialogue.”

After she finishes her dissertation, Kim will expand her research and compare Chinese and U.S. efforts to win hearts and minds in East Asia. The country has been an area of passion for her since she first visited China as a volunteer English teacher during high school.

“The energy there is amazing,” she says. “I hope we don’t fall into another Cold War situation and instead partner with China and tackle global issues together.”