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America historically harbored a fascination with the Orient from the days of its founding, the mystery of the East allowed for a lot of wonder about Chinese culture. Relations between the two countries were improving even further in the 20th Century, American missionaries were actually the first to bring Christianity to China. During World War II, they were allied against the Japanese which led to a permanent seat on the UN security council.

The Cold War changed these relations however when a communist victory took place in 1949. The People's Republic of China staged an intervention in the Korean War by unofficially allowing 500,000 "volunteers" to actively resist US troops and fight the US interest in that area.

Since then, the two countries have been in a state of flux and change, for 40 years the US was wary of their former ally, but relations took steps towards improvement, starting in 1972 when the American table tennis team was invited to China for a match.

Both countries have since come to rely heavily on one another for imports and exports, are closely tied in the economic realm, and have formed a somewhat stable partnership in the interest of global cooperation. This does not necessarily extend to other areas however, the US and China are wary of each other's military intentions.

On North Korea, both countries have a shared interest in controlling and defusing tension in the region. The US prefers one Korea to stabilize the peninsula, however China does not share this value because it means there are no hostile regimes on their border for the time being.

While there is a mutual shared suspicion in government, the Countries are dependent on each other for continued economic stability.

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China is the oldest continuing civilization, with artifacts dating back 7,000 years. They were very advanced for a period history, but an Isolationist attitude brought conformity and stagnation to the country's developments.

During the 19th century, the country suffered a "century of humiliation" in which it lost almost all of the wars it fought and was forced to make many concessions to other countries. Things began to improve in the country after World War II, but international relations started to break apart with the Western world in 1949 with the victory of Chairman Mao and the rise of communism in China at the start of the Cold War.

The economy marginally improved over the next 30 years, but a major change came in 1979 with the establishment of "Special Economic Zones" combining the idea of Western corporations with China's government control over the means of production. With this expansion, the country took many leaps forward and encouraged private enterprise, something lacking in other communists states such as North Korea and Cuba, some of the poorest countries.

With the economic expansion comes increased stability for the government from its people, no one wants unrest if they are in a prosperous economy. Results have been so strong that China surpassed the US economy in 2009. This growth has led to more personal freedoms for the citizens and benefited China as a whole.

The 2008 Summer Olympics was meant to demonstrate to the world that China is a modern country, not a totalitarian regime.

Exports have massively increased and today the US is the largest consumer of their products.

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China is rich in ore and mineral resource. Mining is the largest form of employment in the country, but they rely on other countries for their energy resources. China uses twice the oil they produce, relying on nations like Iran to make up the gap.

There is also a potable water shortage, the groundwater table in northern China, where agriculture is a driving factor, is dropping at a rate of 5 feet per year. The country's controversial one-child policy has led to more senior citizens and fewer births, however the government is working on relaxing these policies in anticipation of the future.

The four modernizations have done a lot to grow and stabilize the economy, but the "Special Economic Zones" are all located on the East side of China. This is where all of their growth has taken place. In contrast, the western side of the country is largely uninhabited and the people that do live there are poor.

The US has a vested self-interest in keeping China stable. The country's economies are tied to one another, China relies on the US to keep buying its products and the US needs what China produces, along with funding for securities and loans.

All of these factors contribute to an economy that is stable for now, but has a few points of failure that need to be addressed to retain long-term growth and stability.

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In 1949, the communist movement (People's Republic of China or "PRC") drove the remaining central leadership (Republic of China or "ROC") to the island of Taiwan, where they have remained separate from China's government. China considers the ROC to be an integral part of the PRC, but the citizens of Taiwan are opposed to this and prefer a declaration of independence. They do not agree with the communist rule and do not want to be reintegrated back into the country and lose their rights. A similar integration was done for Hong Kong in 1997 in which a compromise was made, but Taiwan is wary and continues to watch the actions of mainland China.  The US adopts an official "one China" stance to bring Taiwan back in, similar to Hong Kong.

The US has also fostered the development of a prosperous economy in Taiwan. Taiwanese investors represent the largest foreign private capital going into China.

America protects and supports Taiwan through the military. The American Sixth Fleet protects the Strait of Taiwan, separating them from the mainland. China must accept these actions or risk going against US interests. Stability is achieved for the time being because the US would be forced to support Taiwan if China took action to interfere with the island and reintegrate them into the mainland against their will.

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With the rapid growth of the Chinese economy, wealth has translated to military assets plus manpower.

China has provided double-digit military budget increases annually, however this is still about 1/5 of the US defense budget.

The rising threat of military action to protect Chinese interests has made both governments dubious of the other's future actions.

Some of it has an explanation, While the US shares a border with two countries it has more or less been peaceful with, China shares borders with 14 nations, some of which it has gone to war with.

China has historically taken a defensive stance instead of using the military to expand in other countries. If they decided to change this position and attack US allies or America itself, the effects on the US economy could be devastating. Conversely however, China's economy would suffer also. As it stands now, any action taken affects both countries.