> US relations with China began in the 1970s during the Nixon administration.

US started diplomatic relationship with China, in order to fight USSR, not to put a bet. USSR was by far the bigger threat and the US and China had a common enemy.

> If Xi can create a system to surveil and restrict the free speech of 1.4 billion people in less than 10 years.

Have you not learned a thing in your whole life? Changing 1.4 billion people's ideology is way way way harder than building a surveillance system.