Much of the current foreign policy is based on the concept of China 's peaceful development . Nonetheless , crises in relations with foreign countries have occurred at various times in its recent history , particularly with the United States ; e.g. , the U.S. bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade during the Kosovo conflict in May 1999 and the Hainan Island incident in April 2001 . China 's foreign relations with many Western nations suffered for a time following the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 . A much troubled foreign relationship is that between China and Japan , which has been strained at times by Japan 's refusal to acknowledge its wartime past to the satisfaction of the PRC , such as revisionistic comments made by prominent Japanese officials , and insufficient details given to the Nanjing Massacre and other atrocities committed during World War II in Japanese history textbooks . Another point of conflict between the two countries is the frequent visits by Japanese government officials to the Yasukuni Shrine , which honours not only Japanese World War II dead but also many convicted World War II war criminals , including 14 Class A convictions
atrocities
Japanese war crimes
Politics of China