Strategic interaction: Distrust and cooperation in US-China relations

International cooperation is generally thought to be made possible, or at least enhanced, by a relationship of trust between nations. This proposition is examined with a particular focus on US-China relations, and proceeds through a critique of various models of cooperation that works to expose the limits imposed by the assumption of a causal relationship between trust and cooperation.  A concept of strategic interaction is developed on the basis of analysis of values and interests, asymmetric exchange and distrust, and is offered as an alternative to grand strategic narratives for understanding the strategic behaviour of states.