US–China Relations: Finding Common Ground

In November 2024, while in Hong Kong for the China–United States Exchange Foundation’s annual forum, I sat down with China-US Focus to discuss the relationship between the United States and China. This interview, released in February 2025, explores where the two countries’ interests still align and why those areas deserve more attention.

Both countries depend on a stable global financial system and on the ability of their companies to trade and operate internationally. Even freedom of navigation, so often discussed in terms of military competition, involves a shared commercial interest: keeping shipping routes open. These are practical starting points for cooperation, despite the wider political tensions.

I also argue that Washington needs to distinguish between a challenge to American predominance and an existential threat to the United States. Treating China as an enemy risks making that relationship a self-fulfilling prophecy. For Beijing, my advice is to exercise patience as the United States adjusts to a world in which power is more widely distributed.

The discussion closes with a case for continued engagement and more realistic expectations on both sides. China’s development has not followed the political trajectory many in Washington anticipated, but that does not mean engagement has achieved nothing. Both countries need to understand and deal with each other as they are, while leaving room for further change.

Watch the interview

Watch on YouTube · Original interview on China-US Focus

Interview: China-US Focus / China–United States Exchange Foundation. Recorded November 2024; published 7 February 2025.