This book presents a panorama of the history of China-U . S . relations from 1 949 to 1972 and covers a wide range of topics in this significant period : C h ina-U.S. Confrontation in the Korean War, American C ontainment of C h ina from the 1950s to 1970s, T wo Crises in the Taiwan Strait , C h ina-U.S. A mbassadorial T alks, C h ina-U.S. C onfrontation in Indochina, and R approchement , and Dr. Kissinger and President Nixon & s visit to China in 1971 and 1972. The transformation of U.S. policy toward China from containment to rapprochement indicated the attitudinal change of American decision-makers on C h ina & s role i n U.S. grand strategy and their perception of bilateral relations. China & s decision to seek reconciliation with the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s also embodied its policy adjustment towards the United States. In the toughest moment s of the Cold War, i t took great courage , wisdom and leadership to open a new chapter in bilateral relations. History is a mirror that illuminates the present and the future. At a critical C h ina-U.S. relations today , this timely publication of Professor Tao Wenzhao may enlighten us as to steering this vital relationship toward a healthy course in the world of enormous challenges .