History of China–United States relations

The history of China–United States relations covers the Qing and Republic eras.

One of the earliest major interactions between the United States and China was the 1845 Treaty of Wangxia, which laid the foundation for trade between the two countries. While American businesses anticipated a vast market in China, trade grew gradually. In 1900, Washington joined the Empire of Japan and other powers of Europe in sending troops to suppress the anti-foreign Boxer Rebellion, later promoting the Open Door Policy to advocate for equal trade opportunities and discourage territorial divisions in China. Despite hopes that American financial influence would expand, efforts during the Taft presidency to secure US investment in Chinese railways were unsuccessful. President Franklin D. Roosevelt supported China during the Second Sino-Japanese War, aligning with the Republic of China (ROC) government, which had formed a temporary alliance with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to fight the Japanese. Following Japan's defeat, the Chinese Civil War resumed, and US diplomatic efforts to mediate between the Nationalists and Communists ultimately failed. The Communist forces prevailed, leading to the establishment of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1949, while the Nationalist government retreated to Taiwan.

Harold Isaacs in 1955 identified six stages of American attitudes toward China. They were "respect" (18th century), "contempt" (1840–1905), "benevolence" (1905 to 1937), "admiration" (1937–1944); "disenchantment" (1944–1949), and "hostility" (after 1949). In 1990, historian Jonathan Spence updated Isaac's model to include "reawakened curiosity" (1970–1974); "guileless fascination" (1974–1979), and "renewed skepticism" (1980s).