The world wants the US to be better—it can be, if it lets go of outdated thinking

All eyes are on U.S. President Donald Trump's highly anticipated visit to China, which is scheduled for May 13-15. The visit comes at a time when China-U.S. relations remain strained by tariffs, rising geopolitical tensions and deepening mistrust. In an increasingly turbulent world, dialogue between the world's two largest economies carries high stakes not only for both countries, but also for the wider international community.

In an interview with Beijing Review, Anthony Moretti, an associate professor at the School of Informatics, Humanities and Social Sciences at Robert Morris University in the U.S., shared his views on how things have changed since President Trump's last visit to China in 2017, what remains unchanged, and the hope for cooperation despite ongoing tensions.

With the presidential visit expected in only a day, what do you see as the most realistic and meaningful outcomes to watch for? How does this moment compare with the last U.S. presidential visit to China in 2017 in terms of bilateral trust and leadership dynamics?

Anthony Moretti: If Washington is smart, it will ensure that the meetings are conducted in a professional and diplomatic manner, something the U.S. side too often has shown it lacks. Given the chronic differences that exist, a meaningful breakthrough is unlikely. That means the best outcome might be that Washington makes no embarrassing decisions or announcements.

This is a more challenging time; in 2017, what Trump would be as president was still uncertain; yes, his rhetoric made it seem as though he would be difficult to work with, but there was the reality that he might temper some of that.

The opposite took place. And we see some of that now: Tariffs, an eagerness to be militaristic, a refusal to support various global initiatives, war. Meanwhile, China hosts one world leader after another, fostering free trade and peace. Which side looks like the stable force on the world stage? That answer is obvious.

This is always the problem: China demonstrates its commitment to any number of areas—climate change, global health, free trade, peace and so on, and the U.S. interprets those decisions as false or threatening. The optics of the two presidents being together are important, but the global community wants to see the U.S. be better. It can be, if it is willing to let go of outdated political thinking.

From Clinton to George W. Bush and Obama through today, how would you characterize the evolution of U.S. policy toward China?

Sadly, except for the tariff policy, little has changed. Washington is committed to the narrative that China is the bad guy, determined to undermine the world order. Trump's rhetoric and policies have made this "reality" clearer, but you will have a hard time finding anyone in Washington who is willing to consider China to be anything other than the "enemy."

If there are differences, they will not show up while Trump is president. The Republicans will do what he wants, and the Democrats are putting together a strategy that they hope will lead to electoral success in 2026 and then again in 2028. Therefore, do not expect any change in Washington's approach at the moment.

The end of the 20th century was very good to the United States. But that is now history. No longer can one nation dictate global policy. No longer can one nation threaten or actually use military might without consequences. No longer can anything resembling unilateralism work. There is space for China to be a major player on the global stage without the U.S. being damaged, for lack of a better word. But again unless and until the narrative changes, nothing changes.

Given the considerable hard and soft power of both countries, why has constructive cooperation proven so difficult to achieve? And where do you see the greatest remaining opportunities for cooperation?

At the risk of sounding simplistic, the academic, economic and military power the two sides have guarantees that they would be unstoppable, if working together, to truly make the world better. In other words, hard power and soft power are abundant in both countries. There is no reason they cannot more publicly and successfully work together. But old habits die hard, to borrow a cliche, and Washington is too often stuck in that mindset.

Perhaps [the greatest current opportunity for cooperation lies in] AI governance. There is so much about AI that remains unknown, but there is one certainty: In the wrong hands, AI can devastate societies. Working together to form a legitimate global governance structure—with legitimate safeguards and checks and balances that all nations would follow—would be a great start.