The world must change in the aftermath of the epidemic. Might a new political psychology accommodate more serious science and less narrow-minded nationalism? Blaming China for the outbreak misses the point that nations are in this together.

Following Donald Trump’s impeachment trial and in the run-up to the presidential election, the US seems set for an outbreak of rage and partisan politics. Americans must ensure the political virus of fascism remains contained.

Xi Jinping has expanded the reach of the Communist Party and ignored Deng Xiaoping’s advice for China to lie low as it grows economically. Despite Western unease at China’s trajectory, the world must extend to the country the help it needs at this critical juncture.

In the best-case scenario, Trump will be voted out of office this year. In the worst case, Trump’s America and eight other nuclear powers might bring the world to the brink of disaster. All it takes, as Iran has shown, is ‘human error’.

While it’s very unlikely that the world will make substantial progress on climate change or come to complete agreement on geopolitical issues, some simpler developments are also unlikely to come to pass.

Unyielding principles are often indistinguishable from stubbornness, especially when it results in diplomatic disaster. All sides in the North Korean nuclear talks, the US-China rivalry and Hong Kong have shown unwillingness to compromise.

Diplomat George Kennan’s containment policy outlived its usefulness to the US after the cold war but it might have some relevance for China today, especially in its dealings with Hong Kong.

By directing the Hong Kong government to offer to start unconditional negotiations, China’s leaders can show the world a more nuanced face amid the trade war.

What’s the truth at the heart of the endless impeachment drama in Washington? While Chinese leader Xi Jinping has been compared to Mao Zedong, it is surely US President Donald Trump who outdoes Xi with his paranoia and constant disruption.

Hong Kong’s protesters should stop the violence and all sides should start planning for a more representative government. And both Hongkongers and Americans should forget about US involvement, which can only hold the democracy movement back.

Donald Trump’s call for China’s assistance to investigate a political rival, at a point when bilateral relations are at a critically low ebb, raises alarm bells, and more questions about the sustainability of the Westphalian nation-state order.

Trump’s former defence secretary has co-authored a narrative that, in detailing the philosophy and capabilities of the US marines, reveals a willingness within the military establishment to take the fight to the enemy. China should take note.

Xi Jinping’s discomfort with independent think tanks is matched by the US distrust of all things Chinese. Policy intellectuals are increasingly needed in a complex world, and it is the high responsibility of Beijing and Washington to keep the conversation flowing.

As hawkish advisers whip up the China hysteria, Trump unleashes yet more bellicose trade action, spelling potential disaster for the world economy. It is Xi Jinping’s moment to make the first move towards reconciliation.

The chaos in Hong Kong comes as the US-China relationship wanders into dangerous territory. It is now believed in Washington that Beijing can do no right because the Communist Party can only do wrong.

Asian neighbours admire Australia and are grateful for its aid over the years, but they also get turned off by its smug sense of superiority. Some don’t tremble at the mere mention of China and even admire the rise of a Chinese/Asian superpower.

Paranoia about a rising China is unwarranted. Yet Beijing should also check its impulse to press its advantage over the self-ruled island. Neither side wants war, and many Taiwanese just want to keep the status quo.

Hongkongers will not stand for the routine style of mainland governance. There is enough flexibility in the ‘one country, two systems’ model for peaceful relations, as long as the central government can loosen its grip on Hong Kong.

Hongkongers and Americans are right to see recent actions on extradition and immigration as betrayals of principle, and their protests show how they will respond to a government that oversteps the mark.

To this day, o one has nailed down precisely what happened between protesters and government troops in Tiananmen Square in 1989. Yet the rumour mill grinds away and disputed memories continue to poison China-US relations.

The Vatican’s chief negotiator in China has spoken of how building trust between the two sides involves avoiding doctrinal positions in favour of solving practical problems. China and the US might take a leaf out of the cardinal’s book.

The mother of Yusi Zhao was willing to pay any price – US$6.5 million in this case – to see her daughter get an education of value. Let’s be real: it’s a mother’s nature to go to great lengths for her children, and universities need extra funding to thrive.

More than ever, the world needs scholars who offer good thinking and writing about China, from Kishore Mahbubani to Hugh White to China’s Central Party School professors. Scholarship can buffer US-China tensions before they get out of hand.

The US Committee on the Present Danger focusing on China misreads the Communist Party’s intentions. While China will seek to dominate transnational sectors it sees as essential to its survival, conquering the world would be too much trouble.

Over time, the issue of intellectual property protection is being addressed by the US and China, and a trade deal might materialise soon. In dealing with Beijing, both Americans and Europeans need to take a forward-looking approach.

The need to fend off a gathering movement at home to impeach him will no doubt distract the already easily distracted Trump from matters of global concern, whether it is a denuclearisation deal with North Korea or trade deal with China.

China’s path to economic development, despite a rigid political system, has been successfully replicated in Vietnam and could be a model for North Korea to follow too.

Beijing’s tighter control and scepticism of Western ideas – like capitalism – have sadly coincided with a new US anti-socialism which seems opposed to government itself.

China’s vice-president made it a point in his Davos speech to stress Beijing’s commitment to taking a pragmatic approach in problem-solving – welcome words that should help ease tense US-China relations.

Tom Plate says instead of escalating cross-strait tension, Beijing and Taiwan should focus on coming to an agreement on the ‘1992 consensus’ and working towards a settlement in time for the end of Mao Zedong’s 100-year waiting period.