Jan Berris meeting Dr Henry Kissinger in 2010. [Photo provided to China Daily]

"Till recently there have always been people on both sides who felt that a strong, stable relationship between the two countries was paramount. Unfortunately the coalition is fraying and the relationship, at least on the governmental level, is spiraling downward at a dizzying rate. But I still believe in the importance of the relationship and that there are things that both sides could and should do."

In the US the past 40 years of engagement are now being looked at in a revisionist way, she says.

"Some Americans feel that these engagements have been one sided and that it's just the Chinese who have benefited from it, and I would argue strongly that this is not the case.

"What we are trying to do here at the National Committee is to work against this narrative that has somehow grown up. Engagement is essential for all of us. It must be done in a reciprocal, mutually beneficial and constructive way. But this idea of decoupling, of minimizing the amount of contact between the two peoples, is a path toward disaster.

"None of the people who had thought up and fought for and developed the policy of engagement between our two countries ever thought that China was going to become just like the United States."