page_title: China–United States relations
section_title: Clinton administration (1993–2001)
hierarchical_section_title: China–United States relations / The People's Republic of China and the United States of America / Clinton administration (1993–2001)
caption_attribution_description: 中文（中国大陆）‎: 1999年南京街头举行反美示威游行的青年学生。English: Anti-American protests in Nanjing following U.S. bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, 1999.
context_page_description: China–United States relations, also known as U.S.–Chinese relations, Chinese–U.S. relations, or Sino-American relations, refers to relations between China and the United States since the 18th century. The relationship between the two countries has been complex, and vary from positive to highly negative. After 1980 the economic ties grew rapidly. The relationship is of economic cooperation, hegemonic rivalry in the Pacific, and mutual suspicion over each other's intentions. Therefore, each nation has adopted a wary attitude regarding the other as a potential adversary but has meanwhile maintained an extremely strong economic partnership. It has been described by world leaders and academics as the world's most important bilateral relationship of the 21st century.
  As of 2019, the United States has the world's largest economy and China has the second largest although China has a larger GDP when measured by PPP. Historically, relations between the two countries have generally been stable with some periods of open conflict, most notably during the Korean War and the Vietnam War.
context_section_description: Running for president in 1992, Bill Clinton sharply criticized his predecessor George H. W. Bush for prioritizing profitable trade relationships over human rights issues in China. As president, 1993–2001, however, Clinton backed away from his position. He did articulate a desired set of goals for China. They included free emigration, no exportation of goods made with prison labor, release of peaceful protesters, treatment of prisoners in terms of international standards, recognition of the distinct regional culture of Tibet, permitting international television and radio coverage, and observation of human rights specified by United Nations resolutions. China refused to comply, and by summer 1994 Clinton admitted defeat and called for a renewal of normalized trade relations. However congressional pressure, especially from the Republican Party, force Clinton to approve arms sales to Taiwan, despite the strong displeasure voiced by Beijing.
  In 1993, the U.S. Navy stopped a Chinese container ship, the Yinhe, en route to Kuwait on international waters, held it in place for several weeks, alleging it was carrying precursors of chemical weapons for Iran, and eventually forced an inspection of the ship in Saudi Arabia.  However, no precursors of chemical weapons were found. This incident was viewed in China as international bullying by the United States.
  In 1996, the People's Liberation Army conducted military exercises in the Taiwan Strait in an apparent effort to intimidate the Republic of China electorate before the pending presidential elections, triggering the Third Taiwan Strait Crisis. The United States dispatched two aircraft carrier battle groups to the region. Subsequently, tensions in the Taiwan Strait diminished and relations between the US and the PRC improved, with increased high-level exchanges and progress on numerous bilateral issues, including human rights, nuclear proliferation, and trade. China's leader Jiang Zemin visited the United States in the fall of 1997, the first state visit to the US by a paramount leader since 1979. In connection with that visit, the two sides came to a consensus on implementation of their 1985 agreement on Peaceful Nuclear Cooperation, as well as a number of other issues. President Clinton visited the PRC in June 1998. He traveled extensively in mainland China, and had direct interaction with the Chinese people, including live speeches and a radio show which allowed the President to convey a sense of American ideals and values. President Clinton was criticized by some, however, for failing to pay adequate attention to human rights abuses in mainland China.
  Relations were damaged for a time by the United States bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade in May 1999, which was stated by the White House to be miscoordination between intelligence and the military, although which some Chinese believed to be deliberate. In any case, Beijing for several days was rocked by massive anti-US demonstrations. By the end of 1999, relations began to gradually improve. In October 1999, the two countries reached an agreement on compensation for families of those who were victims, as well as payments for damages to respective diplomatic properties in Belgrade and China. US-China relations in 1999 were also damaged by accusations that a Chinese-American scientist at the Los Alamos National Laboratory had given US nuclear secrets to Beijing.
  In April 2001, a PLAAF J-8 fighter jet collided with a USAF EP-3 reconnaissance aircraft flying south of the PRC in what became known as the Hainan Island incident. The EP-3 was able to make an emergency landing on PRC's Hainan Island despite extensive damage; the PRC aircraft crashed with the loss of its pilot, Wang Wei. The crew were detained by the PLA after destroying all classified documents pertaining to the aircraft's operation. It was widely believed that the EP-3 recon aircraft was conducting a spying mission on the PLA before the collision, which however took place over international waters. Following extensive negotiations resulting in the "letter of the
caption: Anti-American protests in Nanjing following the U.S. bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, 1999
exif: {"Image Make": "Noritsu Koki", "Image Model": "QSS", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image YCbCrCoefficients": "[299/1000, 587/1000, 57/500]", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Centered", "Image ExifOffset": "176", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "504", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "21438", "Thumbnail YCbCrCoefficients": "[299/1000, 587/1000, 57/500]", "Thumbnail YCbCrPositioning": "Centered", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0210", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": ":  :     :  :", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": ":  :     :  :", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "3087", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "2048", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "330"}