Technology is ground zero in the conflict between the United States and China. For the American hegemon, it is about the leading edge of geostrategic power and the means for sustained prosperity. For China, it holds the key to the indigenous innovation required of a rising power. The tech war now underway between the two superpowers could well be the defining struggle of the twenty-first century.

Both major political parties in the U.S. will manipulate the China issue to show unity, which will affect China-U.S. relations. Faced with an extremely polarized country, a Congress with no self-control and a U.S. administration subject to pressure, China must refine and enrich its own policies.

Consultations with island authorities on trade shows American double-dealing. The visit undermined core Chinese interests and had a negative effect. It will do harm but no good in China-U.S. relations and will only undermine U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s Beijing visit.

America’s efforts to reduce reliance on Chinese supply chains may limit China’s economic options in the short term. But this is not sustainable. In the long term, the rise of the Chinese economy cannot be stopped.

To glimpse how China is perceived in the West, a good place to start would be the titles of bestsellers. In 2015, the No. 1 bestseller in the United States was The Hundred-year Marathon: China’s Secret Strategy to Replace America as the Global Superpower. In 2017, there was Destined for War: Can America and China Escape Thucydides’s Trap? And this year, a trending one is Red-handed: How American Elites Get Rich Helping China Win.

At the North American Leaders’ Summit in Mexico City in early January, the unmistakable undercurrent was U.S. competition with China. Clearly, China should increase its political support for Latin American countries in their efforts to gain equal footing with the United States.

The United States, sees strategic parallels between the situations in Ukraine and Taiwan. It thinks lessons learned from Ukraine may serve as a model for dealing with China on Taiwan. But the differences are significant. To “Ukrainize” Taiwan is to provoke war rather than foster peace.

Qin Gang just left his position as Beijing’s top envoy to the U.S., as he has been named China’s new Foreign Minister. As his role changes, there’s no better time to reflect on his tenure in the U.S., his commitment to bettering the China-U.S. relationship, and his, at times, easygoing engagement with the American public.

America and China have no choice but to engage each other and the nature of their future relationship might be uncertain and even difficult, but will inevitably be close. But while recent diplomatic and leadership moves have indicated that Xi Jinping wants to improve relations with Washington, skeptics warn against believing that the policy of the PRC has changed fundamentally.

The installation of Kevin McCarthy as speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives portends stormy weather ahead for U.S.-China relations. President Joe Biden will face more congressional policy challenges as ultra-radical Republican exert their power. And if McCarthy follows through on a pledge to visit Taiwan, bilateral ties will be seriously compromised.