Past crises and the people who led the world in fighting them can offer us words of wisdom in solving the COVID-19 pandemic today.

With China-U.S. relations already on a downward trajectory, things are likely to get worse. The world is entering a period of heightened risk in the next six months.

The China hawks in the United States should think carefully about a fundamental question: What benefits could America possibly derive from bad relations?

China and the United States may find it difficult to get back to the level of relations they’ve had in the past, but they cannot get far on an irrational path.

Leadership – the ability to help people frame and achieve their goals – is absolutely crucial during a crisis. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill demonstrated this in 1940, as did Nelson Mandela during South Africa’s transition from apartheid.

U.S.-China relations have deteriorated gradually under Trump’s hawkish China administration and with the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2020 presidential election may worsen relations further if candidates continue seeing China attacks as an easy electoral strategy.

The short answer is probably not. The coronavirus pandemic has led to a state of mutual suspicion and open rivalry that is going to complicate the future. Beijing and Washington should speak more discreetly to one another to prevent an outbreak of hostility.

The COVID-19 pandemic has proved to be another obstacle in the Trump-era US-China relationship, and throws into uncertainty, once again, whether the future will make the two competitors friend or foe.

A CDC publication’s cover featuring bats in a piece of Chinese art is yet another attempt by the Trump Administration to distract the public from the inefficiency of its handling of the coronavirus and instead blame China.