A Controversial International Cooperation

Abstract The China–United States Agricultural Mission from 1946 to 1948 was the first cooperative project on agricultural technology and trade organized by the governments of the Republic of China and the United States. The mission committee comprised delegates from the United States led by Claude B. Hutchison and delegates from China led by Zou Binwen. The delegates developed a comprehensive plan for agricultural development, technology imports, infrastructure construction, and international trade, which soon came under criticism as a vision for the economic and technological colonization of China. Although this plan was not adopted in mainland China, it incubated an organizational structure for the Sino-American Joint Commission on Rural Reconstruction and provided a blueprint for agricultural development in Taiwan. This mission, which merits close attention in both academic and diplomatic circles, provided both referential significance and important lessons for later cooperation in technology and trade between the United States and the People's Republic of China.