Thought-provoking picture of the times in US eyes

Editor's note: An analysis of 741,576 pieces of front page news of The New York Times since 1900 shows China was headline news in 1900, 1927, 1937, 1950, 1979, 1995, 2008 and 2018. Columnist Niutanqin comments in a post:

The findings of the research indicate how the people in the United States look at China, as well as how China looks at them.

In 1900, China was invaded by the eight-nation alliance of Austria-Hungary, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, which also consisted of the United Kingdom and the United States. That's how China came on the stage at the start of the 20th century.

In 1927, the internal strife between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party of China made China front page news again.

In 1937, the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45) caught the newspaper's attention.

It is noteworthy the founding of the People's Republic of China on Oct 1, 1949, did not appear on the newspaper's front page, but the Korean War (1950-53) did, as well as the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

The year 1995 saw rising tensions over the Taiwan Straits caused by the island leader's visit to the US, and the Beijing Olympics and Wenchuan Earthquake were frontpage news in 2008.

This year, it is the trade frictions that have put China in the spotlight.

It is worth noting that the analysis also shows the countries appearing on the front page of the newspaper were usually foes or opponents of the US, from Germany and Japan, to the Soviet Union, Vietnam and Iraq.

Obviously, the US now regards China as its foremost rival. As long as China keeps rising, it will have to face the challenge of the US. It is a test that no country has been able to steer clear of since 1900.