If the U.S. president, under pressure, makes a hybrid of the Trump and Obama legacies, intensified strategic competition in China-U.S. relations is likely and the risk of confrontation will continue to rise.

New U.S. President Joe Biden is facing a new and different China focused on global rules. It is trying to work with the United States in a mutually beneficial way, but it is preparing for the worst-case scenario. The two countries now have a window of opportunity to usher in a new phase in their relationship.

China-U.S. relations in the post-Trump era will be driven by China’s increasing strength and shifts in global diplomacy. Because Trump failed to keep China pinned down, the United States will sooner or later be forced to adjust to new realities.

Trump made a show out of confronting opponents American or foreign. Though he made China a key opponent throughout his presidency, the fallout from his political movement in the U.S. could make repairing Sino-American relations a second priority in the next presidential term.

Trump’s presidency drastically changed the American foreign policy landscape, which presents a challenge to Biden as he determines how best to engage in the world’s most significant bilateral relationship.

After four years of US-China tensions, the Biden administration should speed up U.S. economic recovery while restoring bilateral trust with China. That would foster global economic prospects. The reverse would undermine those prospects.

Trump’s presidency drastically changed the American foreign policy landscape, which presents a challenge to Biden as he determines how best to engage in the world’s most significant bilateral relationship.

Biden’s cabinet picks on China are ripe with seasoned Beltway politicians, signaling a return to fair play and a restoration of protocol for American China policy. But there remain many points of dispute between Beijing and Washington, and there is no time to waste.

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.