Of all the western imperial powers, the USA acted most favourably towards China in the first half of the 20th century. Throughout the 1950’s, the two countries China and the USA, inhabited two different camps in a rigidly polarized world separated by an iron curtain. The US was the leader of a global alliance of capitalist states created to prevent the spread of communism, whereas China cast its lot with the rival b

(a) to preserve the national territory from foreign annexation or intrusion;

Mao and his followers set out to build a society that was to be organised for the benefit of all and not for exploitation of people by ‘capitalist’ ownership of the factors of production. It can be seen through the Chinese foreign policy, written in the times when Mao Zedong was the leader or a communist China that after the end of the civil war in China in 1949, with the victory of the communists over the nationalists, US-China relationships went through a very tense and hostile period. The ideological orientation and close association of this new republic with the Soviet Union immediately put China in a hostile position with the US.

(c) To repel from her borders any threatening or hostile military presence, be it Russian, Japanese, America or any of her power; and

(d) To regain for China the status of a world power commensurate with the greatness of her civilisation. China is determined to regain its rightful place as a global power, and to be recognised, respected and deferred to as such in the affairs of the world. To gain great power status, China sees it as essential to reunify its national territory, modernise and develop its economy and build a powerful military . The foreign policy objectives of a communist China however are not purely national in spirit, because Mao firmly believed in the ideological superiority of communism and claimed for China the role of leadership in the drive to world revolution. Thus, the export of communism thought and teachings, and the active encouragement or anti-imperialist movements in developing countries, were additional objectives in Chinese foreign policy. In contrast the communist leadership appeared purposeful and resolute; its followers were loyal and dedicated.

Through both the Korean War and the Vietnam War, one can see that even though both USA and China had different ideologies through their foreign policy objectives, they were able to re-open and establish a relationship.

“What do the Chinese Communists want? They don’t just want Quemoy and Matsu. They don’t just want Formosa (Taiwan). They want the world”

Mao expressed his basic intentions to unify China and create a ‘new world’ in a poem:

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