One unintended consequence of the September 11 terrorist attacks on America, 10 years ago this Sunday, is that the strikes marked the beginning of a turnaround in Sino-US ties.
The attacks and the US-led 'war on terrorism' that followed also had a significant effect on Chinese diplomacy and changed the country's geopolitical position.
Before the terrorist attacks, relations between the two Pacific powers had plunged into an adversarial abyss. Events that led to that state of affairs included the bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade during the Nato air war over Yugoslavia in 1999 and escalating confrontation over Taiwan issues towards the end of the 20th century.
The tensions over Taiwan were fuelled by then US president George W. Bush's provocative comment that he would do 'whatever it takes' to help Taiwan defend itself, his offer of the biggest arms sales package to the island in 10 years and manoeuvres involving US carrier battle groups off the mainland Chinese coast.
Things only got worse in April 2001 when a Chinese pilot died in a collision between a US reconnaissance plane and a Chinese jet fighter over Hainan Island .
However, that hostility waned in the immediate aftermath of the attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York when then president Jiang Zemin sent a message saying Beijing 'condemned and rejected all forms of terrorist violence' and expressing his 'deep sympathy and condolences' to the American people.