The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon resulting loss of thousands of innocent lives shocked and saddened all people with compassion. The event has broad implications for U.S. foreign policy, international relations in general, and the development of Sino-U.S. relations in particular. Although the actual impact will only be fully understood in years ahead, one can still discern some emergent features. Three of them warrant special attention for relations between the United States and China in the new counter-terrorism era.