The two Chinas in the global setting: Sino-Soviet and Sino-American cooperation in the 1950s / William C. Kirby -- The changing international scene and Chinese policy toward the United States, 1954-1970 / Zhang Baijia -- Over the volcano: the United States and the Taiwan Strait crisis, 1954-1955 / Ronald W. Pruessen -- "A thorn in the side of peace": the Eisenhower administration and the 1958 offshore islands crisis / Robert Accinelli -- Tension across the Taiwan Strait in the 1950s: Chinese strategy and tactics / Gong Li -- Steering wheel, shock absorber, and diplomatic probe in confrontation: Sino-American ambassadorial talks seen from the Chinese perspective / Zhang Baijia and Jia Qingguo -- Dialogue of the deaf?: the Sino-American ambassadorial-level talks, 1955-1970 / Steven M. Goldstein -- The John administration, China, and the Vietnam War / Robert D. Schulzinger -- Redefinitions: the domestic context of America's China policy in the 1960s / Rosemary Foot -- Changes in China's domestic situation in the 1960s and the Sino-U.S. relations / Li Jie -- Chinese decision making and the thawing of U.S.-China relations / Gong Li -- Détente and the strategic triangle: or, "drinking your Mao Tai and having your vodka, too" / Michael Schaller.