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Mutual hostility and confrontation characterized the first two decades of relations between the United States and the People's Republic of China. This article examines the impact of the Korean War on creating and perpetuating this mutual enmity. The first half describes how the U.S. reaction to the outbreak of the Korean War and especially Chinese military intervention in the conflict removed any chance for an early reconciliation, discussing Washington's specific policies from June 1950 until the armistice in July 1953 aimed at achieving diplomatic isolation and economic punishment of China's new regime. The second half defines China's five primary postwar foreign policy goals and explains how Beijing faced strident opposition from the United States in its attempts to achieve each objective. While Washington's efforts largely failed, U.S. actions ensured that Sino-American relations would remain poisoned for fifteen more years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]