Presidential hopefuls agree that the U.S. needs to engage in deep negotiations with China.

It’s only a matter of time before the United States loses its predominant position as the controller of international rhetoric and is supplanted by China as allies and partners lose confidence.

The G7 Summit, which just concluded at the French seaside resort of Biarritz, showed that Europe and the United States diverge with and even increasingly confront each other on trade issues. Considering its fading influence, the continued value of the G7 has been thrown into doubt, even by European academia.

US President Donald Trump’s behavior at the recent G7 meeting in Biarritz was criticized as careless and disruptive by many observers. Others argued that the press and pundits pay too much attention to Trump’s personal antics, tweets, and political games. In the long run, they argue, historians will consider them mere peccadilloes. The larger question is whether the Trump presidency proves to be a major turning point in American foreign policy, or a minor historical blip.

The future of China-U.S. relations turns on their ability to coexist within the same international system. Failure to do so could lead to confrontation and possible dismemberment of the international regime.

In a recently released Real Vision Finance interview, Former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon makes a populist argument against China in which he blames both self-serving US elites and China’s aggressive geopolitical strategy for America’s ‘managed decline.’ To reestablish unmatched US hegemony, Bannon argues for a hawkish and unilateral US foreign policy and economic nationalism.

It is in Greece’s national interest to pursue continuity in its relations with China and even act as a strategic interpreter between Washington and Beijing, but this will demand creative strategic acuity as the United States will soon rank the world into friends and enemies.

US Democratic candidates have thus far remained tightlipped about their views on China. Instead, candidates should give China more weight in their 2020 campaigns and overall foreign policy plans.

The Amazon is burning, but the U.S. and China may be able to leverage their relationship with Brazil to coerce it into action - should they feel that it is in their best interest to do so.

China may not have been the start of the China-US trade war, but it is a key factor in finishing it. Beijing must consider serious reform if it wants to repair its ties with the U.S. and preserve its ties with the rest of the globe.