Special Section: THE CHINA CONNECTION

In negotiations, the Soviets tend to be blunt, the Chinese insinuating. The Soviets insist on their prerogatives as a great power. The Chinese establish a claim on the basis of universal principles and a demonstration of self-confidence that attempts to make the issue of power seem irrelevant. The Soviets, with all their stormy and occasionally duplicitous behavior, leave an impression of extraordinary psychological insecurity. The Chinese convey an aura of imperviousness to pressure; indeed, they pre-empt pressure by implying that issues of principle are beyond...

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