A recent NYTimes article “Can the U.S. and China Get Along?” by Orville Schell, a longtime China observer and director of the Center of U.S.-China Relations at Asia Society, is an interesting read.

The author lists a range of old and new challenges in dealing with China, from Taiwan, to human rights, to disputes in the South China Sea, to cyberattacks, and more. At the center of these problems is China’s new leader Xi Jinping’s increasing assertiveness. He has called for a “China Dream” to restore China’s pre-eminence in the world with a focus on prosperity, national unity, and greater global influence.

That is a departure from what America had hoped for: with economic reforms and social exchanges, China will eventually become a country of “greater openness and constitutionalism.” In another words, it will become more like America. Now, America finds it’s hard to deal with a country that has a very different political system, history, and values.

What are the solutions moving forward? Letting the US-China relationship fall into an abyss like the US-Russia relationship is not an option. Schell proposes a number of hard choices that America must make Continue reading What Is the Future of U.S. – China Relations?