The unpredictable nature of Trump's China policy, influenced by his ideology, foreign policy team, and personal vendettas, makes it difficult to anticipate the direction of U.S.-China relations under a potential second Trump administration.

In 2018, Steve Bannon, then-US President Donald Trump’s chief strategist, argued that the United States needed to “decouple” from China. Since then, the term has become a fixture in discussions of Sino-American relations – to the point that some, such as former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, have warned that it could become a self-fulfilling prophecy. How salient is that risk today?

The Trump administration was riddled with strife, perhaps none more vociferous than his vendetta against China. Joe Biden is now left with a web of conflicts to untangle, but with common sense negotiations perhaps the ship will be righted sooner than expected.

The United States is at a turning point. It can heal the wounds inflicted by Donald Trump on China-U.S. relations if it’s willing to reverse its containment strategy and return to civilized principles.

From Obama to Trump, US policy towards China has not been productive. The current administration should follow a “humble” foreign policy and regain credibility on the world stage.

The White House said on Monday it was “absurd” to suggest that President Donald Trump was an unreliable negotiator as China reportedly balks at a summit with President Xi Jinping over concerns Trump would walk away from a trade deal.

China needs to keep its composure and resist the impulse towards a strategic showdown with the United States.

Tillerson’s replacement by Pompeo will see a more hawkish State Department, especially on China.

Cooper and Douglas presented four visions of U.S. strategy towards China: primacy, balance, concert and integration. President Trump’s persona, rhetoric and actions suggest that he will lean more towards primacy with an element of balance in dealing with China. Primacy and balance constitute viable strategies in dealing with an emerging rival, but over reliance on these two unnecessarily limits U.S. foreign policy maneuverability and poses serious danger.

Regarding China, Pompeo is likely to offer more of the same mixed approach that has thus far characterized the Trump administration’s policy. On the one hand, Pompeo has endorsed the notion that China is an economic threat to the United States, and on the other hand, Pompeo has spoken positively of Xi Jinping, particularly with reference to China’s role in helping to place pressure on North Korea.