Tariffs have ceased to be an effective bargaining chip for the United States as it seeks concessions from China. The effort at compulsion has been a miserable failure as China adapted effectively and U.S. consumers bore the costs. U.S. President Joe Biden should rethink his approach to relations.

The Biden administration is pushing a multilateralism based on shared ideals, alliances and partnerships. For the United States, only homogeneous countries can ensure quality and efficiency. But the differences between Chinese and U.S. understandings go beyond diplomatic practice. There are theoretical differences as well.

It’s no easy task to expel the No. 2 economy in the world from the international arena. The U.S. president must start with the common denominator, which is that China is, in fact, influential around the world and other countries are loath to attack it. He must engage with China and let it sit at the table.

Counting on the United States to contain China has come at a heavy price. Worse, Australia’s strategic value as a middle power will be eroded dramatically if it continues to bash China in an era of uncertainty in which one can hear faint echoes of the drums of war.

The three countries need to set aside their negative attitudes toward China. It can be done. Even at the height of the Cold War, the Soviet Union and United States cooperated to eradicate smallpox and polio worldwide. The same thing could happen again with today’s plague.

The perception of righteous values and a sense of inflated confidence is hurting relations between the U.S. and China.

China’s upward trajectory can be seen most tangibly in its many investments in Africa - home to many of the world’s fastest growing economies. The U.S., fearful of being unseated as the world’s central power, has to play catch up on the continent.

As U.S. President Joe Biden contemplates course corrections after his first months in office, one change seems especially worthy of consideration: a shift to a more pragmatic, less ideological foreign policy.

The principle should not be used to maximize the interests of any single party. When major countries follow the principles of multilateralism, they restrain themselves from seeking their own interests at the expense of others. Instead, they consider the overall good.

Unlike Donald Trump’s brute force approach to China, President Joe Biden and his team will show more nuance, emphasizing intense long-term competition along with coexistence. The U.S. will compete, but it will weigh the costs and risks more carefully.