Domestic stability on both sides is the key to managing China-U.S. relations. But political calm is an uncertain — even unlikely — commodity, given the mixed messages delivered by high-level American officials before, during and after their visits to Beijing. The coming U.S. presidential election virtually guarantees heated rhetoric on China.

The first debate between the Republican Party’s candidates for next year’s US presidential election revealed major schisms over foreign policy. While former US Vice President Mike Pence and former US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley defended America’s support for Ukraine in Russia’s war of aggression, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy expressed skepticism. Former President Donald Trump – the unquestioned front-runner – skipped the event, but he, too, has objected to US involvement in that conflict.

US President Joe Biden’s recent executive order restricting American investments in Chinese semiconductors, microelectronics, quantum information technology, and artificial intelligence marks another escalation in the Sino-American tech war. In the context of the two superpowers’ intensifying geopolitical rivalry, the chances that this conflict will be resolved anytime soon are virtually zero, to the detriment of the global economy.

America is working to advance its trade ties with China while at the same time escalating export controls and pressure to manage the great power rivalry. The recent visit by Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo reinforces the point.

Three recent articles in The New York Times have signaled a “new” narrative about China. Only weeks ago, China was America’s fearsome “peer competitor” on the world stage. But now, we are told, it is a wounded dragon. Once a threat by dint of its inexorable rise, now it poses a threat because it is in decline.

New investment restrictions from the Biden administration will serve to stimulate China’s research and development efforts. In the long run, the measures could also weaken the United States’ dominant position in the global high-tech industry by stimulating substitution in the industrial chain.

An executive order issued recently by U.S. President Joe Biden to restrict outbound investment will have many unintended negative consequences. Other countries will need a healthy dose of vigilance regarding America’s duality and changeability, as the U.S. moral position is undermined.

There is a persistence of “grand narratives” in the Sino-American relationship, including a moralistic struggle between 'Good and Evil,' oversimplified views of governance, and the homogenization of China and the U.S. It’s imperative we have more nuanced engagement and a departure from simplistic narratives to foster better understanding and cooperation.

Major country competition has become the main theme of international politics, and relations between China and the United States have moved to a new track. America’s new China strategy features the dual tactic of competition plus competition management. It is bound to complicate matters globally.

Washington has recently made attempts to repair its relationship with Beijing, but with limited success. As the 2024 U.S. presidential campaign approaches, Chinese officials should seek to calm ties involving the U.S. and other Western states.