Outgoing ambassador assesses state of U.S.-China relations

Lessons learned from trying to thaw icy relations between rivals U.S and China

BEIJING — As he prepares to leave Beijing, the U.S. envoy to China feels relations between the two rival powers are the most stable they’ve been in recent years.

Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping managed to contain tensions between the United States and China in 2024, but when Donald Trump returns to the White House later this month he will break this fragile stability, driving an unmanaged decoupling of the world’s most important geopolitical relationship, and increasing the risk of global economic shocks and crises. Trump will begin his second term by announcing new tariffs on Chinese products in ord…