Sheena Chestnut Greitens (University of Texas), Ryan Hass (Brookings Institution), Susan Thornton (Yale Law School Paul Tsai China Center), Neysun Mahboubi (Penn Center for the Study of Contemporary China)

The Biden administration faces a long list of urgent foreign policy concerns, but perhaps the most critical is its relationship with China. The U.S.-China bilateral relationship is today defined not only by deep economic interdependence developed in the post-Cold War years, but also increasingly by strategic rivalry. Recent talks between representatives of the two countries in Alaska saw a flareup in tensions, with Chinese diplomats criticizing the U.S. on a range of global issues. Competition – economic, military, technological, diplomatic, and more – between the two countries is starting to determine the direction not just of the Asia-Pacific region, but of the entire world. At this critical juncture in the U.S.-China relationship, what should the Biden administration do? What is it likely to do?