This thesis examines the connections between the Johnson administrations concerns about China and the escalation of the Vietnam War in early 1965. Chapter one examines how the need to contain Communist China in the context of Sino-Soviet conflict contributed to the Johnson administrations decision of escalating the war in the first place. Chapter two and three discuss how the possibility of direct Chinese intervention in Vietnam shaped Americas strategy of gradual escalation and how the attitude of Communist China toward a negotiated settlement helped to rule out a possible political solution in Vietnam.