President Joe Biden and Xi Jinping finally talked, but now comes the hard work of resolving differences and managing others to maintain the world’s most important bilateral relationship.

The White House plans to host a Summit for Democracy in early December - but will the global convention produce tangible actions, or is it a spectacle of diplomacy showcasing Washington’s clout?

The United States will be under the microscope this month as the international community takes a hard look at democracy. While the Biden administration is hoping to assert moral authority, America’s troubled outcomes and geopolitical motives will be on full display.

Many Europeans feel that President Biden’s focus on Asia is once again leaving the EU in the periphery. Europe will likely need to re-evaluate their foreign policy goals to make up for the shift.

The statement by U.S. President Joe Biden and others that America does not seek to change the Chinese system sounds good on the surface. But is it hiding an iron fist in a velvet glove?

Though Xi Jingping’s absence from Glasgow’s COP26 summit has been roundly criticized, the virtual one-on-one summit between Xi and Joe Biden may have produced more actions of consequence, at a fraction of the cost.

The trip, in both its timing and content, was designed compete with China and expand American influence. Senegal, the U.S. Secretary of State’s last stop, happens to be the host country of the upcoming Eighth Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Ministerial Conference. That’s no coincidence.

In their quest for absolute security, the two countries are sowing the seeds of disappointment. Because growth is necessary for economic security, any country that uses security as an excuse for trade protectionism will not achieve its desired competitiveness. This only harms innovation.

Overshadowed by U.S.-Sino friction, the 2022 election will be about the future of the Philippines. Old economic elites hope to undermine leading candidates and create a series of U.S.-Philippine military faits accompli before the vote.

The virtual summit between presidents Xi Jinping and Joe Biden began on a friendly note. But one can predict that the relationship between China and the United States may not go so smoothly in the future. There are likely to be storms and difficult struggles.