The history behind the U.S. competition with China

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. ©2026 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by Factset. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Legal Statement. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by LSEG. Fox News anchor Bret Baier describes U.S.-China competition on technology, military strength, space and more on ‘Special Report.’ President Richard Nixon paved the way for a new relationship with China in the 1970s, but it came at a time as Beijing’s influence was growing globally. "I think China's rise is inevitable. It's not rising. It's already risen. But the question is how China would behave," said former People’s Liberation Army Senior Colonel Zhou Bo. Zhou is now a Senior Fellow at the Center for International Security and Strategy at Tsinghua University. He began his service with the PLA in 1979, a time when China’s military was experiencing rapid changes. "I think the United States military is definitely the strongest in the world," Zhou said. "When China celebrates its centenary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, that is the