Graham Allison’s characterization of China being on a collision course with the United States, a condition he calls the “Thucydides Trap,” has been hotly debated in foreign policy circles. Jared McKinney examines the fault lines of a recent critique by Arthur Waldron, particularly taking issue with the historical evidence Waldron provides to argue that appeasement is more dangerous than measured conflict.

While the BRI will provide China with geopolitical gains as well as costs, it is unlikely to be as much of a game changer in grand strategy. A more difficult question is whether the US can live up to its part.

Much as the relocation of East Asia’s labor-intensive industry to lower-wage China stirred a virtuous economic cycle that went much beyond mere capital accumulation, so also China-Africa production capacity cooperation and transfer can create a sum bigger than its parts. Far from being a new form of colonialism, as the critics have panned it, the transfer of industrial capacity and world-class infrastructure will reduce transaction costs in Africa. But success abroad must first begin at home.

If there is anything about B&R that can contribute to the future of global governance and world order, it is the inherent opportunity in that proposal to further democratize international relations and make globalization an equal, more sustainable process for sharing benefits among all nations.

Against a background of global economic gloominess, China’s Belt and Road Initiative injects a fresh spirit of multilateral cooperation and truly win-win opportunities. There is reason to expect a more vibrant regional and global economic recovery to be stimulated by this partnership initiated and led by Beijing.

Xi Jinping’s administration has emphasized the promotion of leaders who have worked in China’s poorest and most remote provinces, or “hardship” regions. But not all emerging heavyweights with experience in hardship regions are Xi Jinping’s protégés. In fact, some have strong personal ties to Hu Jintao (胡锦涛) and Li Keqiang (李克强).

The stakes for the first Xi-Trump summit are high—but so also is the opportunity to stabilize relations and set a positive tone for future interactions. President Xi and the Chinese side will come to the summit extremely well prepared on a wide range of complex issues confronting the two governments. The question is: how well prepared will the new American president be?

The new Trump administration is well aware of the significance of China-US relations for the US, and the Chinese side is also eager to see a rapid and smooth transition of bilateral ties. Both sides, therefore, share a desire to have their leaders meet as soon as possible, and Secretary Tillerson’s visit this week has created a sound atmosphere for the meeting.

The Trump administration’s China policy is still in the works, but its goal would not be to sabotage China-US relations, but to extract maximum benefit from the relationship. Reasonable, calculated and restrained counter-moves may promote the other side to adjust its policies.