The US-China trade truce is welcome news, but far from a resolution. To overcome the various uncertainties and structural challenges within the US-China relationship, we should turn this truce to a longer-term effort to restore trust, normal economic relations, and a strengthening of multilateralism.

The stark present of Sino-US distrust is a far cry from the nostalgic past of China-US cooperation since the Nixon era. Nonetheless, China’s deepening domestic reforms and revised strategic outlook bode well for the future — but will the US get the message?

Xi and Trump’s productive G20 meeting shows a path forward to resume negotiations and resolve the trade war. However, deep divides remain: America’s hawkish moves and focus on competition may serve as major stumbling blocks for a new round of talks.

With Xi’s visit to Pyongyang, some observers speculated that he sought to lessen US pressure in exchange for progress on North Korean denuclearization. But China handles North Korea for its own sake and particular reasons, not to “play the North Korea card” in dealing with the US.

Xi’s recent visit to Kim Jong-un affirmed China-North Korea ties—Beijing will not break with Pyongyang to appease the US. However, China can still play a constructive role in encouraging a new round of Xi-Trump talks to lay the foundations for peace on the Korean Peninsula.

Amid trade war and perceived China-US disagreement, silver linings are often ignored. But outside of Washington and Beijing, Sino-US cooperation is thriving at the local and private level, while China’s commitment to reform provides a stable foundation for the bilateral relationship.

Just as U.S.-China competition will be a longstanding feature in international relations over the coming decade(s), a China-Russia axis to counter the United States will remain a core feature of global geopolitics.

Japan is increasingly tied to China economically. Could China one day replace the US as Japan’s main ally?

Seen as a whole, the trade war is part of a comprehensive strategy to constrain China. Hopes for a breakthrough at the G20 are ill founded, as is a compromise in the coming months.

Trump and Xi will meet at the G20 summit. But for this meeting to be productive, the US must own up to the ineffectiveness of its “maximum pressure” strategy. Recent moves against Iran, North Korea, and Huawei have all backfired — some introspection is needed.