The US-China tango

The unipolarity in world politics has started to unravel, and the distribution of hard and soft power is in a state of flux.

In the early 1970s, then United States President Nixon and his national security adviser Kissinger startled the world by decisively moving towards normalising relations with China. It was a bold and strategic shift for two reasons. First, it was partly a recognition that the international system could not function without the participation of over a billion people in the mainstream of international politics. Second, the new move was also a well-thought-out plan to use China to constrain the then Soviet Union and expand the policy options for the US in the international arena. For the Chinese, it was a desirable option since it meant recognition of the communist regime from its powerful adversary, and also the possibility of much-needed support to meet the Soviet military challenge on the border. It was viewed as a win-win situation by both countries