Answer: Maoism and the American Dream are politically worlds apart. As Communism took control of China, it did so having defeated a Nationalist force backed by the United States. Furthermore, the USA was engaged elsewhere in South-East Asia, supporting South Korea against the Communist north in 1950. The two countries were opposed ideologically and on the battlefield. From such a start it is hard to see the two countries developing close ties. Yet from 1970 onwards both nations took steps towards a warmer relationship.