A change in tone Washington’s tone could not be made more obvious - by appointing Katherine Tai to lead U.S.-China trade negotiations, the days of Trump and Mike Pompeo’s belligerent trade policy are over.

The incoming Biden administration in the United States is unlikely to bring wholesale change to China-U.S. relations, especially in the realm of sci-tech. While some frictions will ease, Biden will attempt to patch up relations with America’s European allies to constrain China.

The phase one trade deal between China and the United States got a new lease on life, at least temporarily, by an online dialogue of senior officials. Now, action is needed on both sides to prevent a new meltdown.

China and the United States need to jointly map the way forward to eliminate as much ambiguity as possible. Proper framing of the issues can serve to avoid biased interpretations and lead to common ground.

The trade deal has been signed, but recent factors, like the novel coronavirus, make it challenging for China to meet its trade requirements. Instead of moving forward, the US-China relationship has moved sideways.

The road to trade peace is treacherous, especially since most of the obligations under phase one are one-sided and place China at a disadvantage. But tariffs are becoming less useful as leverage for the United States in the face of Chinese economic resilience.

While the Trump administration has been quick to celebrate the recently-signed Phase One trade deal between the US and China, the deal is not progress for Sino-US relations. Instead, the limited agreement simply secures US affirmation of Chinese plans that were already underway.

Trump’s most recent memo to the WTO is the latest in a series of unilateral aggressions by the U.S. Given the relentless combativeness of the Trump Administration in global trade more broadly, the memo targeting WTO norms is unlikely to have any productive results.

What does China stand for on trade and other global issues - a primer for the U.S. negotiating team in trade talks with the Chinese.

Levies would extend to nearly all Chinese imports, potentially affecting American consumers