For more than five decades following the 1972 rapprochement between the United States and China, the two countries seemed to be steadily building a sound relationship, even accounting for periodic setbacks like the Tiananmen Square massacre.

The last decade, though, has seen a sharp increase in tensions and a complete reorientation of US policies toward China — from “engagement” to “competition.” Australia, too, has changed its approach to its largest trading partner.

What happened? Where is strategic competition heading? And what should US allies like Australia know?

This United States Studies Centre event featured Professor David Shambaugh, a world-renowned China scholar and author of “Breaking the Engagement: How China Won and Lost America”.