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.

When President-elect Joe Biden is inaugurated next week, he will quickly move to transform most dimensions of US policy. A glaring exception is China. But if Biden maintains outgoing President Donald Trump’s confrontational approach to the world’s second-largest economy, he will come to regret it.

Historically, following a crisis, dialogues at the highest levels between China and the United States are put on hold indefinitely. At present, neither nation seems to be in a hurry for such a meeting. Here are some of the reasons.

The following is the prepared opening remarks by the author at the Hong Kong Forum on US-China Relations, Jan 26-28, hosted by the China-United States Exchange Foundation in partnership with the China Center for International Economic Exchanges.

The United States needs to have greater cooperation with its allies in order to achieve more effective relations with China.

Local and subnational governments play an indispensable role in maintaining healthy relations between the United States and China. By proactively engaging and empowering them, the incoming administration can achieve positive results.

Instead of transactional trade agreements, Biden’s China policy seems to seek concrete change in Beijing’s behavior. With a transatlantic divide between the US and Europe, it might be difficult to sway certain European countries into siding with Washington over Beijing.