Since the inception of the Belt Road Initiative (BRI) by the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 2014, its relations with the United States have entered into a new phase of rivalry and defiance in an eclectic array of political, economic, and security issues and concerns. In examining the BRI factor in US-China relations, this paper juxtaposes the Barak Obama administration's mild China policy and its cold response toward BRI as well as Donald Trump's administration's harsh China policy and its

more »

... pessimism toward the initiative. In particular by studying and comparing Obama's presidency (2009)(2010)(2011)(2012)(2013)(2014)(2015)(2016)(2017) as a Democrat and his approach to the inception of BRI in 2014 by China to that of the Republican candidate and president Trump (2017-2020) we can observe variant approaches, policies, rhetoric and stance on how to deal and respond to it. It then draws on realist and liberal theoretical frameworks, to identify cooperative and confrontational tendencies in US-China relations, thereby offering an assessment on how the US receives BRI. These two variant approaches are significant in understanding the numerous objectives and justifications of internal and external policies on the overall US response to China's recent growing political, social, and economic clout and influences. This article, therefore, argues that although Obama and Trump have a united voice against BRI, both presidents represent two variant political and party objectives, policies, and approaches towards BRI and China in general.