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In November 2019, Henry Kissinger warned that the United States and China were in "the foothills of a Cold War" that could end in a conflict worse than World War I. Two years, one pandemic, a change of American administrations, and a brutal war in Ukraine later, the relationship is above of the foothills and nearing the summit. Cold War framing now seems inevitable. It has, at least, the virtue of focusing the world's attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the onset of the Coronavirus Disease 2019(COVID-19) global pandemic, Sino–US strategic rivalry has dramatically heightened to a pitch where there is a mounting discussion over whether or not China and the United States have embarked on a "new Cold War." There are three main views in this regard. The first is that China and the United States have indeed entered a new Cold War; the second is that China and the United States are heading for a new Cold War; and the third is that China and the United States will not descend into a new Cold War. Different views reflect different scholarly understandings of the essential properties of the Cold War concept. Fundamentally, the two core features of the Cold War were ideological confrontation and proxy war. Considering that current US–China strategic competition is in the technological rather than ideological domain, and that neither side has instigated any proxy war; however, the phrase "new Cold War" is inappropriate; that of "Porous Curtain" is more apt. The ever-narrowing power gap between China and the United States has undoubtedly prompted the US government's adoption of a policy of blockade and containment to curb China's rising power. However, the deep integration of the international system and historical inertia of US–China interaction preclude the US's complete isolation from China. This has resulted in bilateral relations of a more porous nature. Although the future may not be promising, competition does not necessarily lead to conflict. For this reason, managing the bilateral competitive relationship and striving towards coexistence under competition should be the key task of both countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on China, causing tremendous losses. It also accelerated the trend of power concentration, both within the state and inside the Communist Party. With tensions between the US and China mounting in more areas, bilateral relations dropped to the lowest point since the end of the Cold War. On its periphery, China also saw crises of varying intensity over Hong Kong, Taiwan, the Uyghurs, and the disputed border with India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]