Managing a multifaceted relationship between the U.S.A. and China

Of all the major powers, China arguably poses the most difficult strategic challenges for the U.S.A. The two countries have a multifaceted relationship with a complex mix of cooperative and competitive elements. Concerns about potential future conflicts have not stopped economic, political, and military interactions from deepening over the last two decades. China has become important to a wide range of U.S. interests, from managing the North Korean nuclear crisis to supplying inexpensive goods to U.S. consumers. For its part, the U.S.A. is a key market and is uniquely positioned to facilitate or obstruct Chinese goals such as Taiwan unification and China’s emergence as a great power.