China and Russia may be forced to seek a new systemic equilibrium, with the result being two international camps. This could lead to a new cold war and subject other nations to unpredictable security costs.

During their recent virtual summit, the presidents of China and Russia China had plenty of reason to discuss what to do about their respective external threats. China’s Foreign Ministry said it would rev up coordination between the two in search of a strategic counterbalance.

Strategic competition between China and the United States should be characterized not as a new cold war but as an uneasy peace. Shooting is not likely to break out, but the two countries will remain in dread of each other in the coming decade.

China’s supporters have touted its refusal to engage in “world policing” as a benefit to its ascent to global superpower status - but now the U.S. could weaponize that very policy against them in the battle for influence and power.

The Philippines is gearing up for a hotly contested presidential election, and the relationship with China across trade and security must be addressed by each candidate.

Europe is working out its own path in light of China-U.S. tensions. It will only cooperate with the U.S. on China where it suits its own politics and interests and with its own approaches and tools.

The recent Summit for Democracy organized by U.S. President Joe Biden, indicates a new long-term focus for the US-China rivalry. This can be destructive. Whether the two countries can coexist without catastrophe is at the top of the agenda.

The past week saw an increasing number of restrictions placed by the U.S. against Chinese entities.

The upcoming Winter Olympics may have been an opportunity for the U.S. to make a friendly entrance to China - instead, the official boycott by White House representatives has made it the latest of barbed exchanges between the two powerful nations.

Playing to his domestic audience, the U.S. president must appear tough on human rights. But this has its limits. America’s half-baked Olympic boycott applies only to diplomats, not to athletes. To do more would risk domestic and international blowback.