It is not a good time for American supporters of trade and investment with China. For political reasons, protectionist steps by the U.S. may be unavoidable in 2017. In the name of “making China play fair,” trade barriers risk hurting ordinary Americans and offering little in the way of gains. Derek Scissors argues that it is important to recognize that some policies are more justified and less dangerous than others.

The accuracy of China’s official GDP and growth rates has long been a hotly debated topic, with the detention in January of Wang Baoan, the director of the country’s National Bureau of Statistics, on graft charges intensifying doubts about the agency’s integrity.

It is no secret that America’s infrastructure has been crumbling for years. Even the $305 billion highway bill that was signed in last December by Congress is only a drop in the water. However, the solutions to improving our infrastructure present an unforeseen opportunity to bring together the two largest economies in the world.

Many of the new climate change-related developments within the Strategic and Economic Dialogue emerged from a summit that brought U.S. and Chinese policymakers and private sector leaders together to establish cooperative relationships. Benjamin Reynolds describes some of the interesting and practical agreements on energy and climate change between private and public sectors, but also reminds us that previous climate accords have always struggled to enforce climate targets that are often conveniently forgotten after big summits.

The U.S. Commerce Department has accused two of China’s largest telecom providers for violating sanctions by selling American technology to Iran, North Korea, Cuba, and Sudan. If Huawei and ZTE want to find a more receptive environment in U.S. markets, they may have to choose between following Chinese government desires to aid friendly nations, or complying with U.S. objections to its actions in controversial markets.

The bilateral U.S. – China Strategic and Economic Dialogue has served as a critically important mechanism by which both governments have developed the means to discuss core issues in the economic relationship. As China’s dash for economic growth continues, pressure will be on both the United States and China to ensure these discussions deliver concrete results.

The EU has long served as a magnifier of the UK’s role in the world. It is hard to imagine how the UK would punch above its weight in today’s world, even for a nation that boasts of past world hegemon status, unrivalled experience in global engagement and continuing hard power.

China is eager to keep its economy going strong under “the new normal” to develop an innovative, coordinated, green, open and sharing economy, and Beijing is willing to take the lead in better coordination of macro-economic policies among major economies. The world economy clearly needs structural adjustment, which has to be a collective endeavor for economies both developed and developing, which are intertwined and interdependent in the age of globalization.

Surprise announcement of US partner’s withdrawal from joint venture leaves the world wondering about American priorities, as political winds seem to blow needed infrastructure development off track.

In the long-term, a series of regional free trade agreements and the new global rules conform to China’s own economic restructuring and reform direction. China must enhance its level of liberalization in such areas as goods trade, service trade and investment, break through market barriers and get rid of institutional barriers. Making use of an open competition will promote the country’s upgrading in the global value chain.