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.

Presidents Biden and Xi together have a responsibility to create a different and better future. And it’s vital they figure out how to have at least a passable working relationship before the U.S. elections are in full swing. Can either side take the initiative to warm up to the other party?

The nature of U.S.-China relations have become increasingly polarized since the mid-2010s. It seems like both sides sit on opposite sides of a spectrum, when in reality, both nations exert influence and control over resources and neighbors that could be organized to work well together.

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.

U.S.-China relations seem to hit a “new low” every other month, when instead both sides could be taking actionable steps to repair relations and move beyond petty squabbles on the world stage.

The U.S.-China relationship started with uncertainty, and the consequences of this rocky foundation are seen today.

It is counterproductive to set China and the ‘West’ up as rivals locked in an existential struggle over values. In light of the increasingly polarized views of the East and the West, it is crucial to steer clear of political absolutism to have a more truthful understanding and practical progress on a range of issues such as policy, education, health, etc.

Recent events in the Taiwan Strait have led to an outpouring of international concern regarding potential war between the United States and China. AI technology advancements, which these two superpowers are leaders in research, resources, and patents, would mean that the world has yet to see the most AI-driven conflict in history.

At this year’s Aspen Security Forum (which I co-chair) in July, China’s ambassador to the United States, Qin Gang, appealed for better understanding of his country. But there was considerable debate among the assembled experts about China’s objectives. President Xi Jinping has announced China’s intention to outpace America in critical technologies such as artificial intelligence and synthetic biology by 2030, and many analysts predict that China’s GDP (measured at market exchange rates) will surpass that of the US early in the next decade. Is China seeking to displace the US as the world’s leading power by the centenary of communist rule in 2049?

If China and the United States could identify specific collaborative projects, break the bottlenecks of international supply chains and provide assistance to countries suffering from shortages from food to energy, normal relations could be restored.