Speaking with a common voice, the nuclear powerhouses have created a possible new starting point from which they can reconfigure their relationships, enhance global strategic stability and avoid war.

China and the United States should cooperate to remove the fundamental causes of failure — lack of trust, differing definitions of denuclearization, timetables and peace mechanisms — while accounting for the DPRK’s wariness of the so-called Libya model.

The United States and other nuclear powers are part of the problem. But they can also be part of the solution. The existing nuclear order isn’t perfect, but no country can afford to let it fall apart. Now is the time to act.

If the United States is serious, it can begin by trying to establish basic trust through the removal of some sanctions. It can also push off to the future its demand to consider other issues beyond the JCPOA, which only complicate matters at this stage.

A fundamental shift in thinking is needed under which inspections become an interactive, two-way process. The accusatory hunt for a presumed cheater that has been used in the past needs to change. What's needed is a process that builds trust and provides incentives for cooperation.

In engaging with North Korea, the Biden administration must avoid the “strategic patience” employed during the Obama years. China may be in the prime position to mediate between Pyongyang and Washington.

Iran is blaming Israel for the assassination, but its response has been restrained. It doesn’t want to provoke Trump into launching a last-minute attack on its nuclear facilities. But the guns are locked and loaded. When will the shooting begin?

Cooperating over North Korea is essential for both China and the U.S. – not just for the good of the DPRK, but for the Sino-American relationship at large.

North Korea’s responses often seem tied to a “nothing more to lose” calculation. But good negotiators might be able to make a gesture over the bargaining table that could make all the difference. The window may not be open long.

Absent some substantive progress, the Korean Peninsula situation may well deteriorate significantly this year. To prevent a new escalation, the international community should make the DPRK aware of exactly what the red lines are.