Relations with China in 2024: Challenges and Prospects

U.S.-China relations have been on a downward trend for the past several years, with many in Washington now calling China the U.S.’s biggest threat and China moving aggressively to counter what it sees as American efforts to inhibit its economic development and prevent it from unifying with Taiwan. The year 2023 ended with some improvement and stabilization in U.S.-China ties after President Biden met President Xi in San Francisco. But with U.S. presidential elections and many other problems on the horizon, policymakers in both capitals seem skeptical that the positive summit vibe will be enough to stabilize ties through a raucous U.S. campaign in which China ties are a prime political issue.
In this virtual Susan Thornton, former Acting Assistant Secretary of State, discusses prospects for U.S. relations with China in the year ahead.