AMERICA & CHINA - MOST CRUCIAL GLOBAL STRATEGIC RELATIONSHIP
Global Affairs Session 36 14 May 2026 US AND CHINA: COMPETING AND COOPERATING Eight decades of rivalry, engagement and uneasy partnership The United States and China are the world's two largest economies, and their relationship has swung from Cold War hostility to cautious engagement to today's strategic rivalry. From the 1949 revolution to Nixon's opening, from Deng Xiaoping's reforms to the 2026 technology contest, the two powers have moved from enemies to trade partners to competitors — and are now searching for a way to compete and cooperate at the same time.