Forty years of evolving Sino-US ties

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the People's Republic of China and the United States. In the last 40 years, China and the US have become so economically interdependent due to their growing common interests that it would be very difficult for either to boost its economic growth without the other.

A reality check shows the evolution of Sino-US relations has its own laws along with the historical trends of the times. When the world situation or the domestic situation of either of the countries undergoes dramatic changes, bilateral ties usually witness profound re-adjustments.

Before 1972 when former US president Richard Nixon visited China, the two sides remained antagonistic and had almost no high-level government contacts or exchanges, mainly because of the failure of US policymakers to discover their common interests.