At a time when countries all over the world face the onslaught of a rapidly mounting health crisis, one thing is clear: Sino-American and Asian-regional cooperation is paramount.

Tariffs and blame-games have only complicated China and the United States’ response to the novel coronavirus outbreak. Instead, cooperation could not only contribute to improving global and economic health but also help resolve other issues that are eroding the bilateral relationship today.

It’s probable that Sino-U.S. relations will continue to deteriorate and slip into cutthroat competition if the opportunities for cooperation provided by the epidemic are missed.

The coronavirus has only deepened U.S.-China competition and could weaken America’s global standing if Washington continues to stubbornly adhere to “America first” and forgo its long-standing international leadership.

China-U.S. relations could turn for the worse when the epidemic passes. But there’s a glimmer of hope. If they take prompt action to ease the tension and cooperate in mitigating the health crisis, they can avoid what might be a devastating geopolitical conflict in the post-pandemic world.

As U.S.-China trade tensions mount, “decoupling” must be understood broadly. It occurs in many areas, at different speeds and with unique consequences.

“Competition” carries any number of connotations, from benign to malicious. Clarity about exactly what the Trump administration means would be helpful.

This doesn’t mean soft appeasement or concession. Outreach is conducive to the development of stable relations and serves China’s own long-term national interests.

It’s a huge challenge and a great responsibility for policy makers and strategists on both sides to continue their predecessors’ efforts and halt any deterioration in this most important and consequential relationship in the world today.

Every time there is a change of administration in either the United States or China, the international media is suddenly filled with speculation over how the interpersonal relations between individual leaders might affect relations between the world’s two most important countries. Such myopic gossip, however, ignores the larger structural, historical, and domestic political forces that ultimately play the leading roles in shaping the dynamics of US-China relations.