Part 1/11:

The Evolving U.S.-China Relationship: From Deterrence to Danger

For over four decades, U.S. policy towards China was rooted in a dismissive stance—a belief that China was not a threat. This perspective, shared across both Democratic and Republican administrations since the 1970s, downplayed China's human rights abuses, its nuclear proliferation, and its strategic ambitions. Policymakers assumed that increased trade and engagement would inevitably moderate China's behavior and eventually transform it into a non-threat.