It cannot be denied that Deng Xiaoping’s role in transforming China was multifaceted and profound. His reforms not only transformed China domestically, revitalizing China’s economy, and transforming China into a global economic powerhouse, but it also had great implications for its external relations. The opening up of China led to increased engagement with other countries. It paved the way for China to join international organizations, including the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, and eventually the World Trade Organization in 2001. Deng Xiaoping set China on a path of unprecedented economic growth and global influence, reshaping the course of modern history. China’s leaders following Deng largely stayed true to Deng’s vision, though not without hiccups. The reverberations following Tiananmen threatened to derail China’s reforms, if not for Deng Xiaoping’s now famous southern tour. By the end of the 1990s, the debate, if there was still a significant one, had all but vanished. The collapse of the Soviet Union had seen to that. It confirmed for one that China’s abandonment of socialist command economy and embrace of capitalism (with Chinese characteristics) was the right choice (Armitage, 2021). The changes came at a time when the US too was undergoing significant change because of the transforming global order. The prevailing conditions facilitated the adoption of roles that would allow them to work together for a time.