Though Biden and Xi’s first face-to-face meeting since Biden’s presidential term began came with offers of civility and friendship, there remains much work to be done if the U.S.-China rivalry will be toned down within Biden’s first term.

The meeting of presidents Xi Jinping and Joe Biden in Bali may be the first step toward restoring normal bilateral ties between China and the United States. The leaders discussed their respective red lines and agreed to resume talks on several topics. But a trust deficit remains.

The warm smiles of presidents Xi Jinping and Joe Biden as they shook hands in Bali showed that the two countries are not intractable rivals. They may never be free of competition and struggle, but by using the meeting as a compass they can achieve good things for themselves and the world.

Since the 1970s, China and the United States have been able to carve out a strategic framework for collaboration, competition and cooperation. The result is that stability and growth have generally been guaranteed despite the periodic ups and downs. This needs to happen again.

Presidents Xi Jinping and Joseph Biden met for over three hours in Bali in advance of the G-20 Summit. The discussion was another frank exchange that aired the differences between the two sides, and it also succeeded in establishing some more regularized working level exchanges between the two governments.

Last October’s G20 Leaders’ Summit – held in Rome, and hosted by then-Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi – produced a declaration brimming with promises to “address today’s most pressing global challenges” and “converge upon common efforts to recover better from the COVID-19 crisis and enable sustainable and inclusive growth” across the world. What a difference a year makes.

The systemic challenge for the U.S. is not China but the worst inflation in 40 years. In fact, fragmentation does not seem to be happening in the real world. Even an Asia-Pacific version of NATO will not likely divide the region, as China will continue to be a major trade partner.

U.S. President Joe Biden often talks about leading the world. But if sanctions are what he meant, and if abusing the national security exception against WTO members is the means, the global economic system would be better off without America.

My recent commentary, “Only China Can Stop Russia,” stirred up strong arguments on both sides of the increasingly contentious debate over the horrific war in Ukraine. While most in the West recognize the need for extraordinary actions in extraordinary times and agree that China has an important role to play in resolving the conflict, those sympathetic to Russia’s concerns over border security and NATO enlargement argue that China has no reason to weigh in. But both posed the obvious and important follow-up question: What exactly can China do to restore peace and stability to Ukraine?

I don’t know if it’s by accident or design but the United Nations Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow, and the G-20 Summit that preceded it in Rome, were scheduled around Halloween and the Day of the Dead. Most governments seem afraid to face the existential challenge of climate change and are more spooked by an army of highly-paid lobbyists than by an infinitely more powerful Mother Nature. At the same time, however, promising innovations coming from NGOs and a core of socially responsible companies offer a slim glimmer of sunshine amidst the gloom.