American thinking about the new order after the second world war was built upon the Atlantic charter of 1941. This distinguished between the ‘aggressor nations’ ( Germany , Japan , and Italy ) who were to be permanently disarmed and the ‘peace loving nations’ who would gradually reduce their force levels. The key element in the American vision of the post-war order was that the main allies ( including the Soviet Union ) who fought the war against the aggressors would work together to create a better word. At this stage President Roosevelt envisaged that China would become the major power in Asia as it revitalized through close association with the United States. In 1994 a series of international conferences were held under the American aegis to forge agreement for the new character of the post-war world. These led to the establishment of the United Nations and to the creation of a liberal international economic and financial system named after the location of the conference at Bretton Woods. Conferences were also held on the subjects of food and agriculture and on how to provide relief and rehabilitation. At this stage, if there was a degree of friction, it was with Britain (rather than the Soviet Union) since, as part of his ‘four freedoms’ that underpinned the American vision, Roosevelt expected the Europeans to allow their colonies to proceed towards self-determination and independence. This was anathema to Churchill, who made it clear with specific reference to Hong Kong that ‘nothing would be taken away from England without war’ He al so distrusted the American idealist approach to Stalin, preferring instead to treat him on the basis of traditional power politics. Although the American expectations of a new cooperative international order were soon dashed by the Cold War, important elements of this idealist vision remained to shape future developments of international relations, including the Asia-Pacific region.