The Effect of 9/11 on US–China Relations

Year 2023, Volume: 27 Issue: 2, 172 - 179, 15.06.2023

Zekeriyya Akdağ

https://doi.org/10.5152/JSSI.2022.22047

Abstract

The US–China relations are increasingly important for international politics. It is a matter of curiosity what kind of relationship the United States, which is still the hegemonic power, will have with
the rising China. As an unexpected event, the 9/11 attacks changed the foreign policy priorities of
the United States. Likewise, these attacks caused a significant change in the normal course of
China–US relations. This study aimed to respond to the question of how the 9/11 attacks and the
events that followed impacted China–US relations. In this study, it is claimed that the 9/11 attacks
delayed the rise of China as a top priority in the US foreign policy for a long time. It is argued that
the 9/11 attacks prevented the formation of a consistent policy against China. The 9/11 attacks and
the developments afterward delayed the US view of China as a strategic competitor.

Keywords

9/11, China, strategic competitor, strategic partner, The US

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