China and the United States have patched things up before, but this time it’s going to be more difficult. The necessity of doing so, however, remains. Neither country can afford instability, much less war.

The steady style of U.S. President-elect Joe Biden is a sharp contrast with that of the erratic Donald Trump, and so it’s likely that windows of opportunity will open in China-U.S. relations. Exactly how and in what fields improvement will come is anyone’s guess during the transition period.

Capitalism’s internal flaws raise barriers that impede the progress of Western values around the world. The frequent crises have led to an acute loss of faith in those values. In the long run, the West itself may become less Western.

The incoming Biden administration in the United States is unlikely to bring wholesale change to China-U.S. relations, especially in the realm of sci-tech. While some frictions will ease, Biden will attempt to patch up relations with America’s European allies to constrain China.

Friends and allies have come to distrust the United States. Trust is closely related to truth, and President Donald Trump is notoriously loose with the truth. All presidents have lied, but never on such a scale that it debases the currency of trust. International polls show that America’s soft power of attraction has declined sharply over Trump’s presidency.

U.S. President-elect Joe Biden has a wealth of political experience, unlike Donald Trump. A gradual return to more normal China-U.S. relations can be expected. But some aspects of Trumpism are likely to remain for some time.

The Hunter Biden scandal was fueled in part by a false report, reported under a false name. In the age of fake news, digital clues can lead us to the truth.

China-U.S. relations will likely remain strained under incoming President Joe Biden though the style and some of the substance will change. While defending U.S. security partners in Asia and seeking change in many PRC economic policies, the new team seems interested in exploring opportunities for cooperating on public health, nonproliferation, and especially climate change, under John Kerry, the first U.S. special presidential envoy for climate.

After waiting for the political dust to settle following the U.S. election, President Xi Jinping congratulated President-elect Joe Biden and revealed key expectations about China-U.S. relations going forward.

The U.S. President-elect has articulated his approach to foreign policy — including China — and it deserves close scrutiny. Contrary to some experts, there are significant differences from Trump. The world should pay attention.