Given the accepted narrative of the space environment as congested, contested and competitive, the U.S. has been told to deter, defend and defeat Chinese challenges in space. This rhetoric wrongfully assumes challenge and elides preemption with prevention.

Though 34 African countries are signatories to the Rome Statute, the continent now generally sees the ICC as a political organ that has “deviated from its original purpose”, exercising double standards and “only targeting African countries for case investigation and conviction”. The US exempts itself but demands compliance from the rest of the world.

A changing world requires China to take a clearer, more comprehensive approach to its national security. It strikes a balance between maintaining national security and promoting socioeconomic development, between internal and external security, between the security of territory and people, between traditional security and non-traditional security, and between security of a single country and that of all countries.

The latest U.S. National Military Strategy has provoked a strong but misguided reaction in Beijing. U.S. policy makers are not forecasting an inevitable a war with China and identify areas where the two countries’ national security interests overlap sufficiently for bilateral collaboration.

Even an inconclusive agreement will benefit both countries, as US dominance of the global marketplace declines and makes remaining sanctions less workable.

The U.S. must accept that a major shift in the Asia-Pacific balance of power has already taken place, and minimize provocation. China’s South China Sea land reclamation isn’t necessarily forbidden in international law, as long as they aren’t used for offensive military purposes or to restrict trade.

Mutual trust has been slow to evolve on the political front, but that continues to be key for any meaningful deal.

Despite no public statements made by the U.S. government, China has been implicated in a recent hack of the U.S. Office for Personnel Management. It has spurred a debate on information security, differences between economic espionage and cold war espionage, and the overall bilateral relationship.

It is no surprise that China’s recent military white paper emphasizes “enhancing joint operational capabilities”. The first step of cooperation could be in military operations other than war.

China-U.S. competition and rivalry in the South China Sea is structural, strategic, and irreconcilable. Preventing conflicts there from damaging bilateral ties is a practical imperative for decision-makers in both countries.