Revisiting the history of Sino-US relations: from sustained engagement to changed perception

As one of the most important bilateral relationships in the twenty-first century, the Sino-US relationship experienced a dramatic change from 2017, despite decades of positive engagement and zigzags since the normalization of relations. While there is still no clear consensus on how to precisely characterize today’s Sino-US relations, scholars tend to agree that the two countries have come to a critical crossroads of dilemmas and decisions, which will determine not only the future of the US and China but also the international order and the world to a greater extent. Taking a historical perspective, this paper aims to answer a key puzzle in the development of Sino-US relations—Why did the US end its long-practiced engagement strategy towards China in 2017? In other words, what killed the engagement? As many international observers are now blaming the end of the engagement on individual political leaders, the real cause has deeper roots. This paper will elaborate to suggest that there are two levels of causes considering how the engagement became a dead letter in 2017. One level being the changed perception of China—regarding itself, the outside world, the United States, and the engagement—which can be explained by domestic and international reasons. The second level is the decay and diminish of the various mutually reinforcing factors that the engagement relied on to sustain, such as positive understanding, continued political reform, and bureaucratic momentum. When these factors no longer work, the engagement between the United States and China will consequently last no more.