It has been a calamity for the United States that, when two national tragedies – the COVID-19 crisis and the country’s legacy of racism – collided this spring, the occupant of the White House was an unstable person, totally unfit to govern.

U.S. President Donald Trump has forced a series of actions that have undermined the confidence of America’s allies. Media accounts are replete with evidence of a philosophical split.

China-U.S. relations must not be allowed to slide toward a new Cold War or even military conflict. The two countries, and the world at large, have too much to lose. If official cooperation is not achievable, then connections at other levels should take its place.

The outbreak of the coronavirus has changed some fundamental things in the world order. Post-pandemic global governance will likely feature significant fragmentation. And it could unfold in a variety of ways.

Conspiracy theories about the start and spread of COVID-19, such as those promoted by a few Chinese and American officials and commentators, threaten the cooperation and transparency needed to counter the pandemic.

The disastrous failure of the Trump administration to contain COVID-19 will result in catastrophic 2nd quarter results. So, Trump is targeting China as the scapegoat while risking his re-election on domestic unrest, fatal geopolitics, and a global depression.

Whether the world economy recovers or declines in the coming year will depend upon a number of complex interlocking factors. Unlike SARS, the COVID-19 pandemic endangers the security of the real economy and increases worries.

The COVID-19 pandemic provides a moment in which all can see the importance of global public health security, and it should spur us to look into ways of promoting cooperation and creating mechanisms that inure to the benefit of all.

While the fast-changing nature of COVID-19 makes economic interventions difficult to predict, China's uneven economic recovery may serve as a roadmap for other countries overcoming the outbreak.

COVID-19 has made clear the need for joint cooperation between the US and China, but it has also revealed the two countries’ deep geopolitical divisions and a unique myopic stubbornness.