During the White House tenure of Donald Trump, the U.S. made significant adjustments to its transatlantic policy, leaving Europe to struggle with the changes. The two sides had big differences on economy, trade, security and global governance, precipitating moments of grave turbulence. After the inauguration of Joe Biden, America’s European policy gradually returned to normal, ushering in some constructive changes in transatlantic relations. Now it seems the U.S. and Europe are embracing on a new honeymoon.

Recently, both U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke during the general debate at the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly, offering their insights on the key challenges and issues facing the world. For sure, both leaders’ speeches were well thought-out, providing their own visions of the international order.

On Sept. 10, the presidents of China and the United States had their second phone call since Joe Biden took office, signaling that the two sides will stabilize bilateral relations. The key remark of President Xi Jinping during the call was that “the China-U.S. relationship is not a multiple-choice question of whether we should have good relations, but a compulsory question of how” — to which President Biden responded that the two countries had no interest in letting competition veer into conflict.

The dust from the Afghan war has yet to settle but the fallout is clear. With the ending of the US global crusade on terrorism, the prelude to President Joe Biden’s “extreme competition” with China has begun. The question is: how long will it last?

Chinese President Xi Jinping recently took a phone call from his U.S. counterpart, Joseph Biden — their second since Biden took office. The two leaders had extensive, candid, in-depth dialogue on China-U.S. relations and issues of mutual interest. Although uncertainties remain in bilateral relations, this phone call sent four significant signals.

Chinese President Xi Jinping recently took a phone call from his U.S. counterpart, Joseph Biden — their second since Biden took office. The two leaders had extensive, candid, in-depth dialogue on China-U.S. relations and issues of mutual interest. Although uncertainties remain in bilateral relations, this phone call sent four significant signals.

More legislative documents concerning China have passed through Capitol Hill offices in recent months than ever before, mostly suggesting countering or restrictive policies on China and the Chinese people.

The speed and scope of the Taliban’s takeover in Afghanistan have prompted introspection in the West over what went wrong, and how, after billions of dollars spent on a 20-year war effort, it could all end so ignominiously. China, though, is looking forward. It is ready to step into the void left by the hasty U.S. retreat to seize a golden opportunity.

Chancellor of the German Reich Otto von Bismarck famously said, “Laws are like sausages, it is better not to see them being made”. In this regard, the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) looks like the longest sausage ever made. It was negotiated for nine years by around 140 countries, making it the longest-running international law negotiation in history. Understandably, compromises are made and ambiguities that could be flexibly interpreted still found.

Much has been said about the so-called Wolf Warrior diplomacy. Rhetoric aside, the real issue isChinese victimhood over the “century of humiliation” that started with the 1840 opium war.

In late May at an event hosted by Stanford University, U.S. President Joe Biden’s Asia czar Kurt Campbell said the period broadly described as engagement had come to an end. Obviously, the old strategic framework, which lasted four decades after China and the United States established diplomatic relations, is falling apart, while a new one has yet to be developed. Both China and the United States are consequential major powers; thus undoubtedly the state and nature of the bilateral relationship will be influential not only for the two countries but for others as well. It is very likely the coming four years will be a defining moment for the trajectory of the relationship. How China and the United States engage with each other over such specific issues as trade disputes, ideological troubles and military relations, is very important. However, the answers to the following three questions will be critical and ultimately defining:

One year has passed since a deadly brawl between Chinese and Indian troops in the Galwan Valley in the China-Indian border areas, which resulted in the death of 20 Indian soldiers and four Chinese troops. The aftermath is still being felt today.