China Today

China is struggling to overcome profound differences with the United States — over political systems, trade and human rights — in order to avoid conflict and promote economic growth, despite internal and international headwinds. With the world's second largest economy, China rivals the United States in business and political clout. But tensions have heightened since 2012, when Chinese President Xi Jinping rose to power and began cracking down on individual freedoms and free-market policies. Relations are now the frostiest since a diplomatic thaw began in the 1970s. Stoking the schism is Xi's alignment with Russia in seeking to curb U.S. and Western global influence. Russia's invasion of Ukraine has the potential to exacerbate the situation. A mitigating factor is the reality that China's slowing economy depends much more on the West than on Russia. As the Ukraine crisis unfolds, Beijing has lowered its rhetoric a bit, but experts wonder if China and the United States can ever achieve a stable relationship.