Answer:
Throughout Second World War, the US supported the government of Nationalist leader, Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek. It kept that support after the restart of the civil war following the Japanese surrender in 1945. Washington kept its backing up to the last months of the life of Chiang´s regime in China. Chiang was a Christian (Time magazine called him "the Christian Warrior of China" and a staunch anti-Communist, great merits to the American eyes. Advantages? American policy makers saw him as an ally that was the best option for American interests in China and Asia, and he was a sure asset in the fight against communism. Disadvantages? That vision did not take into account the real balance of forces and circumstances in China, because the Communists were a powerful player not only in the war but in domestic politics; they enjoyed Soviet support. In 1949, Chiang and the remnants of his army had to run to the shelter of Taiwan. The US policy failed and there was a witch-hunt to find "who lost China" in diplomatic circles. Was there a possibility of a significant rapprochement with the Communists of Mao Zedong? There is no clear answer, but the perspectives of such outcome were rather grim at that time.
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