Weeks before his return to the White House, US President-elect Donald Trump issued a pointed warning to the BRICS countries. “Go find another sucker,&rdqu

At the beginning of the new year, China-US Focus interviewed Professor Wang Jisi of Peking University’s School of International Studies and founding president of the university’s Institute of International and Strategic Studies, about the potential scenarios of China-U.S. relations over the next four years.

"Reagan asked Gorbachev: If Martians attacked the United States, would you come to our defense? And Gorbachev said yes, and then asked Reagan: If Martians attacked the USSR, would you come to our defense? And President Reagan said yes."

China-US Focus editor KJ Kerr sat down with Dr. Michael D. Swaine, a prominent American scholar of Chinese security studies, to explore his thoughts on the state of U.S.-China relations. Swaine, currently with the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, points to a need for greater frankness and openness between the rival powers and suggests that they can do things — both individually and together — to reduce tensions and forestall conflict.

A resurgence of right-wing populism will feature prominently in Trump 2.0. And the rise of “effective accelerationism” espoused by tech elites will interact with it, ushering in more uncertainty. How these factors interact will likely determine the U.S. growth trajectory in the years ahead.

The most prominent characteristic of the incoming U.S. president is uncertainty. China, especially, must drop all illusions and prepare to compete so that it can sit tight in the fishing boat and steer it to safety. The wind and waves are likely to rise under a more experienced — and possibly less restrained — American chief executive.

One question that 2025 may begin to answer is whether the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) is becoming the new center of power in world politics. Now that the group has added new members (Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates) and come to represent 45% of the world population, some believe that it is consolidating the (misleadingly named) “Global South” and posing a serious challenge to American and Western power. But I remain skeptical of such claims.

The incoming U.S. president must move quickly to avoid being ensnared in the Ukraine debacle, with Russia winning the ground war. For Trump to get a prompt, positive reaction from Vladimir Putin, he needs to throw Europe under the bus and move on. Otherwise, the ultimate defeat won’t just be NATO’s. It will also be Trump’s.

China must see to its own domestic affairs and promote all-around socioeconomic progress. Externally, it must walk the path of peaceful development without wavering, adhere to an independent foreign policy of peace and hold fast to multilateralism to foster solidarity with other nations. Only in this way can we overcome the severe challenges that are coming our way.

During his first campaign for office, Trump’s threat to impose tariffs on China was dismissed by many as a rhetorical flourish, not serious policy. Today, his threat to impose a 60 percent tariff on Chinese goods or revoking China’s most favored nation status must be regarded as credible and actionable.