As Graham Allison of Harvard University has warned, “when a rising power like Athens, or China, threatens to displace a ruling power like Sparta, which had been the dominant power in Greece for a hundred years, or the US, basically alarm bells should sound.” Nowadays, the alarm bells are sounding so loud that they are drowning out ideas that would allow the United States and China to escape what Allison called the “Thucydides Trap.”

The COVID-19 pandemic has sent the world into perilous, uncharted territory from which no country will emerge unscathed. Over half of the global population is under some form of lockdown. All economies, rich and poor, are falling into recession and can limit the fallout only by working together.

On March 28 and 29, Tsinghua University’s Center for International Security and Strategy, or CISS, and the China Development Research Foundation jointly hosted a webinar focusing on the COVID-19 pandemic and cooperation between China and the United States. It featured 11 renowned experts and scholars from China and 18 from the U.S.

In this time of economic instability, we can look to the past to understand how we got here, and what might come next for the shifting global economy. China and the U.S. are key players in shaping what comes next.

The advent of the novel coronavirus outbreak has created another breeding ground for conflict aside from the illness itself – social media. The spread of misinformation and the war of words occurring online is not conducive to the transnational cooperation that is necessary to alleviate this crisis.

COVID-19 pandemic has changed the world. Its impact on the U.S. is probably the greatest because of President Trump’s attitude and actions. This article provides a short summary of the events during the last few months, then it discusses the political implications in the U.S.

Rather than reversing their fight against China in light of the crisis that faces mankind, some U.S. politicians have only intensified their rhetoric and antagonism. The consequences are unpredictable.

The world still has networks of science and health interests that do not necessarily require political or diplomatic blessing by a sovereign state. These may provide a surer path to a less worrisome future.

A short-term spike in popularity during the COVID-19 crisis doesn’t necessarily mean a better chance of re-election for the incumbent U.S. president. Many current supporters still disagree with his overall political views and style.

China and the United States managed to forge a complementary relationship since 1979, despite their disagreement about the best model of government. They need to return to the pragmatism of the past.