In 2019, U.S. Customs seized 3400 pounds of invasive Chinese mitten crabs at the Cincinnati, Ohio airport. The mitten crab threatens commercial fishing and biodiversity and is listed on the top 100 worst invader list. China is hosting the 15th meeting of the Convention on Biodiversity and is in a position to show leadership in protecting aquatic environments.

China’s recent achievements in space exploration are starkly contrasted with privately led efforts at the center of American aerospace development, and highlight how the two nations remain on separate tracks in the field of science.

The 2021 Olympics was a major milestone in a world reeling from COVID. Thousands of athletes and national representatives congregated in Tokyo to demonstrate that the tensions being traded by political leaders don’t always reflect the hearts and minds of their constituents.

Why should the shared interest in middle class development in China and the United States be a key driving force in the bilateral relationship today?

In 2018, US President Donald Trump declared that the US had erred in backing China’s accession into the World Trade Organization in 2001. He was convicted that such political establishment had been lulled by China’s still juvenile economic situation in the late 1980s, and that American politicians failed to grasp that supporting China’s candidacy would create a political and economic risk to the US’ global hegemony.

Correctly understanding each other’s policies will avoid sinking into an infinite negative loop. Speculation about China-U.S. financial decoupling has returned. But politicization of financial matters will only do further damage to the already deteriorating bilateral relationship.

China has sought to reinvent its image time-and-time again as it has grown - and its latest iteration features a healthy dose of fiery nationalism.

Among educated and internationally savvy Chinese, no current topic is more despised than the bickering over Chinese and American medal counts at the Tokyo Olympics. Narrow-minded nationalism holds scant interest for them, just as it does for most educated Americans – and, generally, for me. But, as an economist, I am not so dismissive toward the medal-count discussion.

The Biden administration has not yet revoked a rollover proclamation from the Trump administration which bans students from China to enter the United States.

The Olympics often seem to be preceded by political tension and drama; this and next year’s games in Asia are no different. Tokyo’s games got off to a rocky start, and now a group of U.S. lawmakers is calling for a boycott of the Beijing 2022 games. Will this destroy the Olympics or will the games unite us through conflict?