Sino-American relations: The United States and People's Republic of China sign the Shanghai Communiqué.
The Joint Communiqu of the United States of America and the People's Republic of China, also known as the Shanghai Communiqu (1972), was a diplomatic document issued by the United States of America and the People's Republic of China on February 27, 1972, on the last evening of President Richard Nixon's visit to China.The document pledged that it was in the interest of all nations for the United States and China to work towards the normalization of their relations, and affirmed a mutual interest in dtente.
The relationship between the People's Republic of China and the United States of America has been complex since 1949. After 1980 the economic ties grew rapidly. The relationship is one of close economic ties, as well as hegemonic rivalry in the Asia-Pacific. It has been described by world leaders and academics as the world's most important bilateral relationship of the 21st century.
As of 2021, the United States has the world's largest economy and China has the second largest although China has a larger GDP when measured by PPP. Historically, relations between the two countries have generally been stable with some periods of open conflict, most notably during the Korean War and the Vietnam War. Currently, the United States and China have mutual political, economic, and security interests, such as the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, but there are unresolved concerns relating to the role of democracy in government in China and human rights in China. China is the second largest foreign creditor of the United States, after Japan. The two countries remain in dispute over territorial issues in the South China Sea; China (like Taiwan) claims sovereignty over virtually the entire South China Sea, while the United States sees it as international waters and claims the right for its warships and aircraft to conduct operations in the area.Relations with China began slowly until the 1845 Treaty of Wangxia. The US was allied to the Republic of China during the Pacific War against Japan (1941–1945) but, after the victory of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in Mainland China during the Chinese Civil War, fought a major armed conflict with the People's Republic of China in the Korean War and did not establish relations for 25 years, until President Richard Nixon's 1972 visit to China. Since Nixon's visit, every US president, with the exception of Jimmy Carter, has toured China. Relations with China have strained under President Barack Obama's Asia pivot strategy. Despite tensions during his term, the Chinese population's favorability of the US stood at 51% in Obama's last year of 2016, only to fall during the Trump administration. According to a 2020 survey by the Pew Research Center, 22% of Americans have a favorable view of China, with 73% expressing an unfavorable view, one of the most negative perceptions of China. The poll also found that 24% (plurality) of Americans see China as the top threat to the US. Furthermore, surveys of the Chinese public also found a corresponding decrease in favorability towards the US, with 61% to 72% of them expressing an unfavorable view.The relationship deteriorated sharply under U.S. president Donald Trump and CCP general secretary Xi Jinping, with issues such as China's militarization of the South China Sea and Chinese espionage in the United States arising. The Trump administration labeled China a "strategic competitor" starting with the 2017 National Security Strategy. It subsequently launched a trade war against China, banned US companies from selling equipment to Huawei and other companies linked to human rights abuses in Xinjiang, increased visa restrictions on Chinese nationality students and scholars and designated China as a currency manipulator. During the Trump administration, and especially since the US-China trade war began, political observers have started to warn that a new cold war is emerging. By May 2020 the relationship had deteriorated to the lowest point as both sides were recruiting allies to attack the other regarding guilt for the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic.Tensions between the United States and China have remained under the Biden administration, which made China one of its focal points in implementing U.S. foreign policy. The more confrontational stance has endured, with the Biden administration focusing on China's treatment of Hong Kong, its threats against Taiwan, the Uyghur genocide, and Chinese cyberwarfare. In response, China has adopted "wolf warrior diplomacy" to deny all accusations of human rights abuses.