| Year | Pres. | House | Senate | Democrats | Republicans | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | R | R | R | We favor the continuance and strict enforcement of the Chinese exclusion law, and its application to the same classes of all Asiatic races. | ||
| 1904 | R | R | R | Our great interests and our growing commerce in the Orient render the condition of China of high importance to the United States. We cordially commend the policy pursued in that direction by the administrations of President McKinley and President Roosevelt. | ||
| 1908 | R | R | R | |||
| 1912 | R | D | R | Republic of China established |
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| 1916 | D | D | D | |||
| 1920 | D | R | R | |||
| 1924 | R | R | R | National Origins Act placed quotas based upon country of origin. Total prohibition on new arrivals from China and Japan |
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| 1928 | R | R | R | The Administration has looked with keen sympathy on the tragic events in China. We have avoided interference in the internal affairs of that unhappy nation merely keeping sufficient naval and military forces in China to protect the lives of the Americans who are there on legitimate business and in still larger numbers for nobly humanitarian reasons. America has not been stampeded into making reprisals but, on the other hand, has consistently taken the position of leadership among the nations in a policy of wise moderation. We shall always be glad to be of assistance to China when our duty is clear. | US recognizes new regime in China | |
| 1932 | R | R | R | Events in the Far East, involving the employment of arms on a large scale in a controversy between Japan and China, have caused worldwide concern in the past year and sorely tried the bulwarks erected to insure peace and pacific means for the settlement of international disputes. | Manchurian Incident. Japan takes over Manchuria | |
| 1936 | D | D | D | |||
| 1940 | D | D | D | |||
| 1944 | D | D | D | |||
| 1948 | D | R | R | We will foster and cherish our historic policy of friendship with China and assert our deep interest in the maintenance of its integrity and freedom. | China Aid Act passed to help nationalists | |
| 1949 | D | D | D | People’s Republic of China founded |
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| 1950 | D | D | D | Korean War | ||
| 1952 | D | D | D | |||
| 1955 | R | D | D | Formosa Resolution Passed. US commitment to defend Taiwan |
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| 1956 | R | D | D | We pledge determined opposition to the admission of the Communist Chinese into the United Nations. They have proven their complete hostility to the purposes of this organization. We pledge continued support to Nationalist China. | The United States has made a security Treaty with the Republic of China coveting Formosa and the Pescadores; and the Congress, by virtually unanimous action, has authorized the President to employ the armed forces of the United States to defend this area. As a result, the Chinese Communists have not attempted to implement their announced intention to take Formosa by force. | |
| 1958 | R | D | D | Mao’s Great Leap Forward |
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| 1960 | R | D | D | Although normal diplomatic relations between our Governments are impossible under present conditions, we shall welcome any evidence that the Chinese Communist Government is genuinely prepared to create a new relationship based on respect for international obligations, including the release of American prisoners. | Recognition of Communist China and its admission to the United Nations have been firmly opposed by the Republican Administration. We will continue in this opposition because of compelling evidence that to do otherwise would weaken the cause of freedom and endanger the future of the free peoples of Asia and the world. | |
| 1964 | D | D | D | We continue to oppose the admission of Red China to the United Nations. | We are opposed to the recognition of Red China. We oppose its admission into the United Nations. We steadfastly support free China. | China explodes nuclear weapon |
| 1965 | D | D | D | Immigration and Naturalization Act Passed. Put end to system of quotas | ||
| 1966 | D | D | D | The Cultural Revolution | ||
| 1968 | D | D | D | We would actively encourage economic, social and cultural exchange with mainland China as a means of freeing that nation and her people from their narrow isolation. | ||
| 1971 | R | D | D | Ping Pong diplomacy. China joins United Nations |
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| 1972 | R | D | D | The beginnings of a new U.S.-China relationship are welcome and important. . . What is needed now is serious negotiation on trade, travel exchanges and progress on more basic issues. The U.S. should take the steps necessary to establish regular diplomatic relations with China. | While profound differences remain between the United States and China, at least a generation of hostility has been replaced by frank discussions. In February 1972 rules of international conduct were agreed upon which should make the Pacific region a more peaceful area now and in the future. Both the People’s Republic and the United States affirmed the usefulness of promoting trade and cultural exchanges as ways of improving understanding between our two peoples. | Nixon visits China |
| 1976 | R | D | D | The recent improvement in relations with China, which has received bipartisan support, is a welcome recognition that there are few areas in which our vital interests clash with those of China. Our relations with China should continue to develop on peaceful lines, including early movement toward normalizing diplomatic relations in the context of a peaceful resolution of the future of Taiwan. | The People’s Republic of China can and will play an increasingly important role in world affairs. We shall seek to engage the People’s Republic of China in an expanded network of contacts and trade. Such a process cannot realistically proceed at a forced or incautious pace; the measured but steady growth of our relations best serves our interests. | |
| 1979 | D | D | D | US and China have full diplomatic relations | ||
| 1980 | D | D | D | The Democratic Party commits itself to a broadening and deepening of our relationship with China in a way that will benefit both our peoples and the peace and security of the world. | Recognizing the growing importance of the People’s Republic of China in world affairs, Republicans—who took the historic initiative in opening the lines of communication with that nation—will continue the process of building a working relationship with the PRC. Growing contacts between the United States and the People’s Republic of China reflect the interests of both nations, as well as some common perceptions of recent changes in the global military balance. | |
| 1984 | R | D | R | Our relationship with the People’s Republic of China must also be nurtured and strengthened. The Democratic Party believes that our developing relations with the PRC offer a historic opportunity to bring one quarter of the world’s population into the community of nations, to strengthen a counterweight to Soviet expansionism, and to enhance economic relations that offer great potential for mutual advantage. | We commend the President’s initiatives to build a solid foundation for the long-term relations between the United States and the People’s Republic, emphasizing peaceful trade and other policies to promote regional peace. Despite fundamental differences in many areas, both nations share an important common objective: opposition to Soviet expansionism. | |
| 1988 | R | D | D | Today, the communist regime of the People’s Republic of China looks to free market practices to salvage its future from stagnant Marxism. We welcome this development. As we draw closer in our relationship, the Republican Party believes that we must continue to encourage the abandonment of political repression in the People’s Republic of China and movement toward a free market. We also look toward continued improvement in mutually beneficial trade between our two nations. | ||
| 1992 | R | D | D | Conditioning of favorable trade terms for China on respect for human rights in China and Tibet, greater market access for U.S. goods, and responsible conduct on weapons proliferation. | Our policy toward China is based on support for democratic reform. We need to maintain the relationship with China so that we can effectively encourage such reform. We will continue to work toward the day when the Chinese people will finally complete their journey to an open society, free of the deplorable restrictions on personal liberties that still exist. | |
| 1996 | D | R | R | The Party supports the Administration’s policy of steady engagement to encourage a stable, secure, open and prosperous China — a China that respects human rights throughout its land and in Tibet, that joins international efforts against weapons proliferation, and that plays by the rules of free and fair trade. | Our relationship with the Chinese government will be based on vigilance with regard to its military potential, proliferation activities, and its attitude toward human rights, especially in Hong Kong. | |
| 1999 | D | R | R | China joints WTO | ||
| 2000 | R | R | R | Similarly, we must continue to engage China – a nation with 1.3 billion people, a nuclear arsenal, and a role in the 21st Century that is destined to be one of the basic facts of international life. We must search out ways to cooperate across a broad range of issues, such as the environment and trade, while at the same time, insisting on adherence to international standards on human rights, freedom, the persecution of religions, the suppression of Tibet, and bellicose threats directed at Taiwan. China cannot be ignored, and these issues cannot – and must not – be marginalized. A deterioration of the U.S.-China relationship would harm, not help, American national security interests and the promotion of our values. | America’s key challenge in Asia is the People’s Republic of China. China is not a free society. The Chinese government represses political expression at home and unsettles neighbors abroad. It stifles freedom of religion and proliferates weapons of mass destruction. . . China is a strategic competitor of the United States, not a strategic partner. We will deal with China without ill will — but also without illusions. A new Republican government will understand the importance of China but not place China at the center of its Asia policy. | Clinton grants China permanent Normal Trade Relations with US |
| 2004 | R | R | R | In Asia, we must better engage with China to secure Chinese adherence to international trade, non-proliferation and human rights standards. We are committed to a “One China” policy, and will continue to support a peaceful resolution of cross-Straits issues that is consistent with the wishes and best interests of the Taiwanese people. | Republicans believe that America’s relationship with China is an important part of our strategy to promote a stable, peaceful, and prosperous Asia- Pacific region. We welcome the emergence of a strong, peaceful, and prosperous China. The democratic development of China is crucial to that future. Yet, a quarter-century after beginning the process of shedding the worst features of the Communist legacy, China’s leaders have not yet made the next series of fundamental choices about the character of their state. In pursuing advanced military capabilities that can threaten its neighbors in the Asia-Pacific region, China is following an outdated path that, in the end, will hamper its own pursuit of national greatness. In time, China will find that social and political freedoms are the only source of that greatness. | |
| 2008 | R | D | D | It’s time to engage China on common interests like climate change, trade, and energy, even as we continue to encourage its shift to a more open society and a market-based economy, and promote greater respect for human rights, including freedom of speech, press, assembly, religion, uncensored use of the internet, and Chinese workers’ right to freedom of association, as well as the rights of Tibetans. | We will welcome the emergence of a peaceful and prosperous China, and we will welcome even more the development of a democratic China. Its rulers have already discovered that economic freedom leads to national wealth; the next lesson is that political and religious freedom leads to national greatness. | |
| 2012 | D | R | D | Both publicly and privately, the President has made clear to the Chinese government that it needs to take steps to appreciate its currency so that America is competing on a level playing field. This administration has doubled the rate of trade cases brought against China by the last administration, and created a new government- wide Interagency Trade Enforcement Center. . . The world has a profound interest in the rise of a peaceful and prosperous China, but China must also understand that it must abide by clear international standards and rules of the road. China can be a partner in reducing tensions on the Korean Peninsula, countering proliferation in Iran, confronting climate change, increasing trade, and resolving other global challenges. President Obama will continue to seek additional opportunities for cooperation with China, including greater communication between our militaries. We will do this even as we continue to be clear about the importance of the Chinese government upholding international economic rules regarding currency, export financing, intellectual property, indigenous innovation, and workers’ rights. | We will welcome the emergence of a peaceful and prosperous China, and we will welcome even more the development of a democratic China. Its rulers have discovered that economic freedom leads to national wealth. . . The Chinese government has engaged in a number of activities that we condemn: China’s pursuit of advanced military capabilities without any apparent need; suppression of human rights in Tibet, Xinjiang, and other areas; religious persecution; a barbaric one- child policy involving forced abortion; the erosion of democracy in Hong Kong; and its destabilizing claims in the South China Sea. | |
| 2016 | D | R | R | Democrats will push back against North Korean aggression and press China to play by the rules. We will stand up to Beijing on unfair trade practices, currency manipulation, censorship of the internet, piracy, and cyberattacks. And we will look for areas of cooperation, including on combatting climate change and nuclear proliferation. We will promote greater respect for human rights, including the rights of Tibetans. | China’s behavior has negated the optimistic language of our last platform concerning our future relations with China. The liberalizing policies of recent decades have been abruptly reversed, dissent brutally crushed, religious persecution heightened, the internet crippled, a barbaric population control two-child policy of forced abortions and forced sterilizations continued, and the cult of Mao revived. | |
| 2020 | R | D | R | Democrats’ approach to China will be guided by America’s national interests and the interests of our allies, and draw on the sources of American strength—the openness of our society, the dynamism of our economy, and the power of our alliances to shape and enforce international norms that reflect our values. Undermining those strengths will not make us “tough on China.” It would be a gift to the Chinese Communist Party. . . Democrats will protect the American worker from unfair trade practices by the Chinese government, including currency manipulation and benefiting from a misaligned exchange rate with the dollar, illegal subsidies, and theft of intellectual property. We will rally friends and allies across the world to push back against China or any other country’s attempts to undermine international norms. . . Democrats believe the China challenge is not primarily a military one, but we will deter and respond to aggression. | ||
| 2024 | D | R | D | President Biden understands that standing up for the rules of the road in the Indo-Pacific, and standing by our allies, makes us safer. That is why he has maintained a commitment to freedom of navigation across the Indo-Pacific, standing with the Philippines and other allies and partners to push back against hostile actions and coercion by China . . . President Biden recognizes that the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is America’s most consequential strategic competitor. The PRC is the only global actor that combines the intention to fundamentally reshape the U.S.-led international order with an increasing military, economic, diplomatic, and technological capacity to do so. President Biden understands the imperative of rising to this challenge while managing the competition between our countries responsibly. | Republicans will revoke China’s Most Favored Nation status, phase out imports of essential goods, and stop China from buying American Real Estate and Industries. |