China and the United States have patched things up before, but this time it’s going to be more difficult. The necessity of doing so, however, remains. Neither country can afford instability, much less war.

After waiting for the political dust to settle following the U.S. election, President Xi Jinping congratulated President-elect Joe Biden and revealed key expectations about China-U.S. relations going forward.

As the U.S. attempts to divide Chinese society, its suppression of industry, verbal attacks and ideological stigmatization all point at painful, challenging conundrums in China’s development and reforms.

Devising an effective strategy to compete, cooperate, and co-exist with China will be one of US President-elect Joe Biden’s toughest foreign-policy challenges. And over the next two months, Sino-American relations are almost certain to get worse.

“Chimerica” is not workable. At the end of the day, China and the United States need to strengthen trust and cooperation incrementally while upholding multilateralism and eliminating conventional and nonconventional threats.

It is possible to move forward if a framework is agreed up for solving matters where competition is inevitable. The incoming Biden administration in the United States has an opportunity.

It’s no surprise that China-U.S. relations have had their ups and downs, as there are always differences between countries. But while all-around consensus may be elusive, they can always find some common ground. Opportunities abound.

Can China’s green initiatives and the Green New Deal in the United States work in harmony? With both countries committed to a transition to new energy, it is more important than ever for them to communicate.

Relations cannot return to the past, but the two countries can move forward to achieve a certain degree of balance. Giving up on the future will serve neither themselves nor the world.