China and the United States must take the opportunity to move relations forward following the Xi-Biden virtual meeting in November. A healthy future will be discovered through frank dialogue, sincere exchanges and taking advantage of every small but concrete commitment.

The future of Sino-American relations rests with maximising the yield of what can be changed, and minimising the relevance of what can’t be changed. The multitude of differences that the U.S. and China can’t resolve must be set aside to allow for genuine change to take place.

While the United States talks about the need to prevent conflict with China, it engages purposefully in sabotage — especially regarding Taiwan and the South China Sea. While nations can design mechanisms to deal with unforeseen events, no guardrail can prevent a deliberate act.

President Joe Biden and Xi Jinping finally talked, but now comes the hard work of resolving differences and managing others to maintain the world’s most important bilateral relationship.

The statement by U.S. President Joe Biden and others that America does not seek to change the Chinese system sounds good on the surface. But is it hiding an iron fist in a velvet glove?

Though Xi Jingping’s absence from Glasgow’s COP26 summit has been roundly criticized, the virtual one-on-one summit between Xi and Joe Biden may have produced more actions of consequence, at a fraction of the cost.

U.S. President Joe Biden’s assurances during the video summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping need to be transformed into concrete progress. Both the United States and China should do their best to bring about a substantive improvement in trade relations in near future, thereby sealing the summit's success.

China and the United States should move forward without delay and show visible results as soon as possible in areas of agreement. Where they differ, they should adopt sound crisis management mechanisms and strive to find compromises that meet the demands of both sides.

Perhaps America has underestimated China’s resolve, even as it blurs diplomatic and military lines. No one should underestimate the negative impact on peaceful reunification that further engagement between the U.S. and Taipei might have.

The virtual summit between presidents Xi Jinping and Joe Biden began on a friendly note. But one can predict that the relationship between China and the United States may not go so smoothly in the future. There are likely to be storms and difficult struggles.