The end of the Cold War and US' ideological foreign policy toward China

Anticommunist ideology is an important element influencing US' foreign policy toward communist countries, particularly during the Cold War. After the Cold War the US no longer regarded communism as a dominant threat to the US and other Western countries, but it never gave up their anticommunist policy. Meanwhile China became the only great communist power and US' first ideological rival, which began to influence US' China policy significantly. When the US searched for new strategic rivals, China was the subject chosen by American policy makers. Furthermore, American policy makers were apt to regard China as a 'threat' when China became stronger. One factor contributing to the 'China threat' is that China is still a socialist country under the leadership of the Communist Party. The discrepancy ideologically between China and US is an unfavorable factor in Sino-US relations.