Taiwan and Hong Kong (and the other two "Asian Tigers", South Korea and Singapore) were favored trading partners with the US during their economic rise, in the

Taiwan and Hong Kong (and the other two "Asian Tigers", South Korea and Singapore) were favored trading partners with the US during their economic rise, in the hopes that China would notice their booming economies and abandon strict communism. The US helped Taiwan out with billions of dollars of loans and financial aid for exactly this reason.