China Lobby

China Lobby the U.S. policy toward China from the mid-1940s until Richard M. Nixon's presidency. Henry Luce, the publisher of Time, was one of the more powerful and visible proponents of the China Lobby. From 1945 to 1949, he and other anti-communist conservatives pressured Congress and the Administration for military and economic aid to support Chiang Kai-shek against Mao Tse-tung's forces and the Japanese. This powerful lobby group, composed of members of Congress, members of the media, and labor unions, suppressed criticism of Chiang Kai-shek and raised approximately $3 billion in aid from the government for him. When the army was defeated, several statesmen were accused by the Lobby of being responsible for “losing China” to Mao and communism. U.S.-China relations remained hostile, consisting of no diplomatic relations, trade, or contact, and these relations were seen as contributing to conflicts that erupted between both nations during the Korean and Vietnam Wars. It is believed that the Lobby backed Gen. Douglas MacArthur's interest in invading China during the Korean War. Such anti-China sentiment began to diminish with Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy's presidencies and with Nixon's interest in resuming contact with China.