The bilateral relationship between the United States and China, has been among the most important in the world for decades. It is now one of the most difficult and uncertain. The two powers have transitioned from an era of engagement to a period of mutual suspicion and testing, as they vie to shape global practices to suit contrasting social and political systems.

While their economic, strategic, and ideological frictions increase, however, the two nations remain interdependent and their cooperation is still essential to solving global problems. How President Trump and General Secretary Xi respond to the challenge of managing relations while addressing differing domestic agendas has the world watching.  

Join J. Stapleton Roy, former U.S. ambassador to China, Singapore, and Indonesia; Amy P. Celico, principal and China director at the Albright Stonebridge Group and former senior director for China affairs at the Office of U.S. Trade Representative; and the Stimson Center’s Yun Sun, a leading analyst of Chinese and Asian views of the United States, for an incisive discussion of U.S.–China relations. Robert Daly, director of the Wilson Center’s Kissinger Institute on China and the United States, serves as moderator.