Fabricating a strategic architecture by uniting Japan, the Philippines and Australia with the United States will only accelerate the transformation of the region into opposing camps and drag the big powers into a dangerous Thucydides trap.

The story of Wu and Yue presents the Eastern idea of partnerships — “You are in me, and I am in you” is the way Chinese President Xi Jinping put it. Differences between China and America should not impede collaborative efforts for the common good.

The warm smiles of presidents Xi Jinping and Joe Biden as they shook hands in Bali showed that the two countries are not intractable rivals. They may never be free of competition and struggle, but by using the meeting as a compass they can achieve good things for themselves and the world.

Since the 1970s, China and the United States have been able to carve out a strategic framework for collaboration, competition and cooperation. The result is that stability and growth have generally been guaranteed despite the periodic ups and downs. This needs to happen again.

Presidents Xi Jinping and Joseph Biden met for over three hours in Bali in advance of the G-20 Summit. The discussion was another frank exchange that aired the differences between the two sides, and it also succeeded in establishing some more regularized working level exchanges between the two governments.

U.S.-China relations seemingly take place between two inevitable foes, descending each week over a multitude of rows ranging from economic to ideological. However, the imminent threat that each side believes the other to be is an exaggeration of manageable competition between two powerful and influential nations.

We are living in a very different world. Shifting macroeconomic trends including diversification and second sourcing because of de-globalization and de-coupling have significant implications for the global economy. The strategic competition between the United States and China and other major geopolitical developments will fundamentally shape the world we live in.

The U.S. strategic community’s assessment of America’s China policy can make a major difference in bilateral relations. Crises have a double edge: They provide challenges but also opportunities. Whether or not U.S. leaders will listen to the experts remains an open question.

Major-country relations are changing dramatically. Chinese academics and political leaders should conduct an in-depth analysis of what China faces. The United States has already started a new Cold War in regional and global industrial chains.