But we can sanction China at times while still working to persuade China to accept the international norms on non-proliferation. So we must be especially vigilant about Chinese actions. We may not have total success, but no proliferation problem will get better if we abandon our efforts to work with China in this critical area. Security A more fundamental source of contention between the U.S. and China stems from our competing views on peace and security. Chinese and American leaders have very different views of how peace and security are to be achieved and maintained in the world.
Chinese officials believe there are inadequate restraints on American power.
They object to our policy of maintaining strategic alliances, and dislike particularly the forward deployment of U.S. forces and our efforts to strengthen our alliance with Japan. They advocate a multipolar world, protest our humanitarian interventions performed outside of the UN, and oppose modifications of the doctrine of state sovereignty. They want to strengthen the UN as a way of limiting our influence. All of these feelings were sharpened by our intervention in Kosovo, and especially by our bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade. Chinese officials see those events as part of a concerted U.S. effort to contain China.