China’s stock market and RMB exchange rate both took a hit, but these were obvious reactions to Britain’s surprise vote to leave the EU. This brand of populism will get a boost from the success of the Brexit “Leave” campaign, but the long-term global effects will take years to become clear.

Let’s seize this opportunity, pass the Trans-Pacific Partnership and make sure America isn’t holding the bag, but holding the pen.

China will use its presidency to focus on growth and guide international economic cooperation, and promote the new foreign policy concepts Beijing has adopted in recent years such as “win-win cooperation”, “a new model of major-country relationship” and “a global community of shared future” – all aimed at creating a better future for the world.

The process of globalization has dramatically transformed state-to-state relations at regional levels: As bonds of community of interest are being formulated on greater scales, cooperation will become essential for coexistence in the future. China-US cooperation in the construction of regional order for the Asia-Pacific is not only in their fundamental interests, but also the two major countries’ historical responsibility for the area.

Washington and Beijing have strengthened cooperation in coping with global challenges as climate change and pandemic control, and seen remarkable achievements. Such co-existence and interweaving of competition and cooperation will become the New Normal of China-US ties for a fairly long period of time, though challenges in North Korea and Afghanistan will test that potential.

China’s ideology of global governance shows much continuity between the pre- and post-2008–9 periods. Authoritative Chinese views all generally indicate that China’s proposed changes to the existing international order.

The two countries are not rushing toward collision but thriving on forward-moving, parallel tracks. That’s been the record for more than 30 years, despite fretful narratives of potential conflict.

The official American statement on adhering to one-China principle and hope for peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits helped mitigate suspicions in China and further testified to the US strategic plan to compete with China mainly in the economic field. This will help the two countries to sustain competitive cooperation and for China to readjust and reform its domestic policies.

Many “realist” scholars make predictions about China based on what the Soviet Union did during the Cold War, which assumes the two cases are similar in more ways than are warranted. An enormous amount of cultural capital remains untapped for its potential in collective identity construction. Success in constructing a new Asian identity will not only strengthen cooperation in the short run, but also weaken the appeal of military contestation over time.

Since President Xi Jinping took office in 2013, China has been pursuing its own version of strategic rebalancing in foreign policy. China aims to re-position itself as “a state in the middle”, acting as a bridge among the developed and developing countries and maximizing the strategic space. If Chinese diplomacy and Beijing’s “connectivity” can ease the crisis in the Middle East, the achievement would affirm the nation’s rise to great-power status.