Experience shows American government advisers are unwitting masters of one of the 36 strategies – "Feign madness but keep your balance." The defense against this is to continue negotiation, even when it appears this is without hope. In these negotiations it will be necessary to "toss out a stone to get a jade". The peaceful settlement of this disagreement is the key long-term objective.

All levels of engagement by business and policymakers should be increased so a more sophisticated understanding of China can be a foundation for policy and trade discussion.

China's economy contributes 27 percent to world economic growth, versus the US contribution of 12.3 percent, according to calculations by Bloomberg. Working with the United States is important, but the development of the Belt and Road Initiative will become more significant as alternative markets expand. Time and history is on China's side. Today progress may be slow, but slow progress is better than no progress.