The impact and clash of ideologies: Sino‐US relations from a historical perspective

Sino‐US relations over the last 100 years have been heavily affected by the ideological and cultural traditions of both sides; but the impact of ideas on each other has by no means been an even interaction. At the turn of the century when China and the US encountered each other, their destinies took opposite trajectories. While the US saw its dream of national greatness fulfilled with the continuous rise of its national power, China witnessed the sharp downfall from the peak of its self‐perception as the great central kingdom. Ever since then, all progressive intellectuals and reformers took inspiration from western ideas of democracy and freedom, while struggling at the same time against oppression and exploitation by western powers. These two aspects constitute the basic aspirations of the Chinese nation as a whole, which was summed up as ‘anti‐feudalism and anti‐imperialism’. One of the basic urges of Americans of all sorts in dealing with China throughout the years was to influence, educate and change China to its like. However, in front of Chinese revolutionary movments with democratic rights as part of their aims, the US government policies more than often favored the conservative or reactionary rulers. Meanwhile, the development of China takes its own course beyond the control of the US. Yet, under different circumstances, neither side could help placing hopes on the other. As for rulers of different Chinese adminstrations, they wavered between seeking American support in China's economic development and diplomacy on the one hand, and fear and resentment of American cultural influence on the other. Anti‐communism entered the US foreign policy thinking ever since the Russian Revolution. But US relations with the Chinese Communist Party have not been hostile all the way through but have undergone twists and turns. The period of best relationship between the US and the PRC took place in the 1980s and underwent a sharp turn after the events of 1989. Leaving aside other factors, the age‐long cultural paradigm of unrealistic hopes on each other, hence drastic disappointment, played a certain role. At present, The mentality of the bulk of Chinese including young students have also undergone a great change from the pre‐1989 period. The admiration for the US has receded and a certain degree of resentment of American pressure on China is on the rise. The pursuit of a strong and prosperous China remains the common and deep‐rooted national aspiration prevailing among Chinese of all ages and social strata and in this they identify themselves more with the government vs. foreign pressure, whatever their views on other subjects. The ideological aspect of difficulties in Sino‐US relations is not likely to go away in the foreseeable future and much wisdom is needed to handle it properly.