China's relations with the United States

This chapter examines the four phases in China’s relations with the United States during the period 1949–2020: from 1949–1971, when relations were locked in a pattern of Cold War rivalry; from 1972–1988, when relations improved substantially as China and the United States cooperated to oppose the Soviet Union, and China embraced systemic economic reform; from 1989–2008, when cooperation came to an end with the Tiananmen era crackdown by the Communist Party of China, while the period saw the rise of China as a major economic and military power; and from 2008 onwards, after bilateral conflict between China and the United States increased. Looking to the future, the question of whether increasing great power rivalry will be exacerbated by ideological antagonism has returned.