This article discusses U.S.-China relations from the context of human rights. It believes that the issue of human rights has increasingly become a top priority in American foreign policy. On the other hand, the priority of Chinese foreign policy has moved from "revolution" under Mao Zedong to "economic modernization" under Deng Xiaoping. With these two opposite directions of foreign policy priorities, it is understandable that there have been and will continue to be confrontations between China and the United States around the democratization and human rights issues. Beijing has nevertheless been responsive to these pressures by making small but noticeable progress toward democratization and the improvement of its human rights record. This paper will draw upon the works of earlier scholars and try to analyze the following issues: the motivations and internal dynamics of the U.S. promotion of democracy and its human rights diplomacy; China's official position and internal dissident pressures on democracy and human rights issues; China's view on Washington's human rights diplomacy; and the role human rights have played in U.S.-China relations. Attention is also given to the influence of Hong Kong as a contributing facotr to China's changing position on human rights and dematization.