Turbulent history

The United States and China have had a tangled relationship, full of highs and lows.

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Feb. 27, 1972

Forty years ago this month, President Nixon became the first U.S. president to visit China while in office, in what was then dubbed "the week that changed the world." The visit followed years of secret diplomacy between the two erstwhile Cold War enemies, and culminated in the "Shanghai Communique," which is still the basis of bilateral ties between the United States and China.

/ AP

Oct. 26, 1979

In late January 1979, China's paramount leader, Deng Xiaoping, became the first senior leader of the People's Republic of China to visit the United States. His trip received largely favorable coverage, particularly when Deng traveled to Texas for a rodeo and surprised his hosts in Simonton, Texas, by donning a cowboy hat -- a gesture of the new friendly ties between China and the United States.

Corbis Bettmann UPI / Reuters

April 28, 1984

In April 1984, President Reagan, elected as an anti-Communist Cold Warrior, became the second U.S. president to visit China since Nixon's trip in 1972. The visit ended with Washington and Beijing still at odds over the United States' continuing support for, and military weapons sales to, the Nationalist government in Taiwan.

Bob Daugherty / AP

June 5, 1989

On June 4, 1989, troops and tanks of the People's Liberation Army rolled through the streets of Beijing using live fire to clear Tiananmen Square of students who had been camped out demanding democracy. Estimates put the death toll at least in the hundreds, and possibly thousands. The incident, shown on live television around the world, largely chilled U.S.-China relations for the next decade.

Jeff Widener / AP

June 29, 1998

In June and July 1998, President Clinton became the first U.S. president to visit China since the Tiananmen Square massacre. The trip was controversial even before it began, with Clinton's Republican opponents saying he was making the trip under pressure from U.S. businesses. Also, human rights activists were outraged that Clinton was given a welcoming ceremony at Tiananmen Square.

J. Scott Applewhite / AP

May 10, 1998

In May 1999, during the NATO bombing of Serbia, U.S. warplanes bombed the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, killing three Chinese journalists. The Clinton administration apologized and said the bombing was an accident, due to outdated maps. But many in China -- which opposed the Kosovo war -- still believe the bombing was deliberate.

Vincent Yu / AP

April 1, 2001

On April 1, 2001, an American EP-3 spy plane collided with a People's Liberation Army Navy fighter jet over the Pacific, killing the Chinese pilot, Wang Wei, and forcing the U.S. plane to make an emergency landing on China's southern Hainan Island. The 24 American crew members from the EP-3 were detained until April 11, when the United States issued "the letter of the two sorries" for the incident. Chinese anti-American leftists still recall the incident and the death of Wang Wei as a reason not to trust the United States.

/ AP

Aug. 10, 2008

In 2008, President George W. Bush faced intense pressure, including from Democrats then controlling Congress, to boycott the Beijing Olympics because of China's record on human rights and religious freedom. Bush went anyway, saying to skip the Games would be "an affront to the Chinese people."

Gerald Herbert / AP

Nov. 18, 2009

President Obama's 2009 visit to China, in the first year of his presidency, was supposed to mark the importance he attached to the U.S.-China relationship. But the trip drew some negative press coverage in the United States when a planned press conference with President Hu Jintao was scrapped at the last minute -- the two leaders just read statements -- and Obama was largely restricted from meeting ordinary Chinese.

Charles Dharapak / AP

Jan. 19, 2011

In January 2011, President Obama hosted Chinese President Hu Jintao for an official state visit at the White House, including a black tie dinner. The Chinese saw the ceremonial trappings as important since they believe President Bush -- worried about criticism from human rights activists -- had insulted Hu in 2006 by having only a White House lunch and not a dinner.

Carolyn Kaster / AP

May 2, 2012

On April 22, Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng (pictured in the wheelchair) escaped house arrest and fled to the U.S. embassy in Beijing. Chen left the embassy for medical care on May 2, following what U.S. officials said were assurances by the Chinese government that he will be treated humanely.

/ AFP/Getty Images

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