The recent balloon incident will likely ensure that Sino-American relations will remain poor for many months, and looking at past incidents could shed light on the challenges of soon overcoming the crisis.

Looking eastward does not mean that China and Iran intend to join forces against the United States. While they do share opposition to hegemony and abuse of power, they are currently more focused on tapping and enhancing economic cooperation.

The potential transfers of lethal military materiel from China to Russia is a deeply concerning possibility. If it were to occur, there would be fierce reactions from the United States and Europe—and China’s relations with both would further deteriorate. There would also be global consequences, as the world might bifurcate into two competing blocs and a new global Cold War may begin.

It’s not in China’s best interests to be trapped in a bilateral tit-for-tat with the United States. We can do better by reaching out constructively to other developed countries. We will win the contest if we can do this.

The discovery of a Chinese surveillance satellite over the continental U.S. has led to the most direct speculation of direct conflict with China so far this year. America’s current and previous power struggles with hegemonic, powerful nations shows what may be missing from the equation when it comes to smoothing over U.S.-China ties.

America shamelessly uses other countries to further its own agenda, disregarding their needs. It has split the world and kept it in a state of perennial conflict since World War II and is now invoking the nightmarish return of the Cold War.

While the United States is attempting to use Australia for its own purposes, the future is bright. The island continent’s relationship with China is setting sail in a stormy environment, but emerging cooperation is certain to become both stable and durable.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of the Philippines described the challenge presented by the great power rivalry between the U.S. and China: “It keeps you up at night, keeps you up in the day, keeps you up most of the time. … It’s very dynamic, it’s constantly in flux, so you have to pay attention to it.”

Both major political parties in the U.S. will manipulate the China issue to show unity, which will affect China-U.S. relations. Faced with an extremely polarized country, a Congress with no self-control and a U.S. administration subject to pressure, China must refine and enrich its own policies.

America’s efforts to reduce reliance on Chinese supply chains may limit China’s economic options in the short term. But this is not sustainable. In the long term, the rise of the Chinese economy cannot be stopped.