THE EVOLUTION AND CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CLINTON ADMINISTRATIONS’S CHINA POLICY IN ITS FIRST TERM Niu Jun(7) The Clinton administration's China policy in its first term may be divided into three stages: 1, from 1992 to June 1994; 2, from June 1994 to May 1996; and 3, f rom May 1996 to early 1997. This article identifies three major factors that aff ected Bill Clinton's China policy, namely, the changed American strategy in fore ign affairs after the end of the Cold War; the interaction between American fore ign policy and its domestic politics; and American perception of China and its i mpact on the concept of engagement.