In the midst of a devastating pandemic, China’s ambitious space mission to Mars follows in the footsteps of Isaac Newton’s mid-plague scientific explorations.

The White House’s attempt to bar many foreign students from returning to the US to continue their studies threatens to damage America’s reputation for educational tolerance and intellectual inquiry – not to mention the fact that it may well turn foreign students against the US.

As the pandemic worsened in China, support came from people and businesses in the United States. Then, when the U.S. situation worsened, Chinese people stepped in with assistance. The two governments should follow this example and cooperate, rather than allowing relations to deteriorate further.

Both human rights and the rule of law are protected in the SAR, even as the United States, with its long-arm jurisdiction and unilateral sanctions, returns to Cold War cliches that are not good, either for itself or for others.

Recently published in the National Review, “China Unquarantined” is little more than an unfounded, incendiary cheat-sheet to remind Republicans to stay on message and speak in unison.

Of the many efforts the United States has made to decouple with China, its moves to prohibit cultural exchanges, including advanced studies, are least likely to work and undermine a key stabilizer in relations.

Beijing is on high alert after a new outbreak of COVID-19.

US national identity has become polarized, and a tribalism has emerged under which compromise has become virtually impossible. The American melting pot of diverse cultures and broad tolerance has been damaged.

The people of the United States have paid a huge price for Trump’s incompetence and divisiveness. His response to the killing of George Floyd and the massive protests that followed was as clumsy as his response to the COVID-19 epidemic.

The United States is sick with more than just the coronavirus. Its troubles have been brought about by years of neglect and its tendency to emphasize short-term political outcomes rather that the long-term good of the people.