With global tensions high, particularly between the U.S. and China, it’s helpful to recount stories from years past to remind ourselves that our forebears too struggled with monumental difficulties, yet in the long run, this did not preclude meaningful relations between different nations.

Daniel Bell, a former dean at a Chinese university, offers rare insight into contemporary Chinese life from a Western perspective. His lived experiences overseas can serve as a new lens through which to observe China, especially as media discourse sours on America’s rival.

As tensions between China and the U.S. seemingly increase, it’s difficult for either side to overcome public perceptions shaped by the media and arrive at the point of intentional communication. But reflecting on the history of diplomatic relations between China and the U.S. reminds us that “it’s not about friendship, it’s about mutual self-interest.”

For some time now I’ve believed that the best way to improve the troika of China-European Union-United States relations is for Europe to start to exercise its strategic autonomy when its own national interests diverge from its ally, the United States.

China’s newly-planned Xiong’an, touted as a city of the future and designed to absorb some of Beijing’s overcrowded population, is currently a work in progress set in the middle of historic wetlands. Can policymakers make good on their promise to develop a green, modern city in such a precarious environment?

China has no motive to engage in ideological competition or confrontation with the United States. Its defense of its own ideological foundation is a natural response to U.S. rhetoric. The so-called ideological competition is nothing but an American fabrication.

The country’s agenda is underpinned by development — both its own and that of others. As the economic pie gets bigger, everyone benefits. China hopes to bring more certainty and sustainability to the world and boost the confidence of all.

OpenAI is taking the world by storm after the recent launch of user-friendly chat bot ChatGTP. It will likely be a game-changer for Internet search, education, research and writing, even surrounding the China-U.S. relationship.

The ability authors, musicians, and filmmakers have to tell stories can transcend geopolitics, but the current state of U.S.-China affairs offers almost nothing in terms of a meeting ground for the creatives of either side to exchange ideas. Repairing the cross-Pacific relationship will only get harder if big thinkers and storytellers cannot find a way to communicate.

The former general secretary of the CPC was a charismatic and creative guide for his country through turbulent times, from 1989 to 2002. Always affable and open to the ideas of others, he won the respect and admiration of all, even his political opponents.