Black swan events are unpredictable. But people should still be fully prepared psychologically: The US is a very fragile society, and anything can happen.

We must rise above our evolutionary-molded minds that radically distinguish in-groups and out-groups and thus distort rational decision-making. We must see the world from a holistic, global perspective. We must do better.

Mr. Biden and his party seem to be at an increasing disadvantage in next year's midterm elections.

There has not been any strong leader in the Western world in recent decades.

“The US is overburdening itself...The US should learn lessons from the Soviet Union.”

The US might be No.1, but its share of the whole has steadily come down over the past 80 years since the end of the Second World War.

Assange's fiancée revealed to the media that he suffered a stroke in prison in October due to stress over his future. What does the family plan to do next? How did the US administration disappoint the family?

When Joe Biden was confirmed President-elect in November 2020, many on both sides of the Pacific Ocean were hopeful for a shift in China-US trade ties that had become mired in a tariff war. But to the disappointment of many, bilateral tensions have only escalated under Biden. Stephen Roach, a senior fellow at Yale University's Jackson Institute of Global Affairs and former Chairman of Morgan Stanley Asia, was one of them. Why Biden has not moved to roll back the punitive tariffs? What actions need to be taken to ease trade tensions? In an interview with the Global Times' Song Lin (GT), Roach, whose new book focuses on how to improve the bilateral ties, offered his views.

The Western narrative of "democracy and freedom" keeps telling Chinese people how oppressed they are. However, when the younger generation can look around and see things with their own eyes, that narrative is starting to lose its hold.

Editor's Note: The 'Summit for Democracy,' hosted by US President Joe Biden, took place on Thursday local time amid international doubt over the US' leadership in democracy. Why is the US increasingly detached from the essence of democracy? Can the summit bolster US-style democracy around the world, and at the same time contain alleged adversarial countries like China and Russia as the US wishes? The Global Times reporter Wang Wenwen (GT) talked to Kenneth Hammond (Hammond), professor of East Asian and global history at the New Mexico State University, over these issues.

Is the US qualified to regard itself as the leader of world democracy? Can the banner of democracy solidify the countries participating to the summit into a unified camp against China?

“Democracy is about the climate of trust.” Unfortunately, there is no such trust in the society of the US and other Western countries today.

The invitation list was drawn up by the US in its sole judgment of which countries qualified. My immediate criticism is that the invitation list was not drawn up in a democratic manner.

This December marks the 20th anniversary of the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Over the years, scholars from Russia, China and the West have studied the reasons for the dissolution. What are the most important lessons for today's China from this event?

Why did he choose to warn about a possible war in a Chinese media outlet? How is the US' Taiwan policy hijacked by the military-industrial complex?

The US is not used to lagging behind, but with more and more evidence, it found itself to be far behind Russia and China.

Unfortunately, Australia's foreign policy debate agenda is now being set by security agencies rather than by its professional diplomats. Australia has indeed “lost its way.”

The US and West is in a multi-dimensional crisis. Instead of putting its own house in order first, it argues that someone is even worse. Whether true or not, it soothes like a shot soothes the drug addict but it is not a solution.

I think that the danger of a new cold war, which will be also a scientific cold war, a digital cold war, is growing. Five years ago, it looked like a possibility, but a distant one. Now, it seems more and more like a reality.

The current state of the bilateral relationship makes climate engagement more difficult between the US and China than a few years ago. But engagement is needed.

Despite war-weariness among US public after the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, there's a real effort in the US to amp up a new cold war with China.

I like to believe the American military is populated by sane people – we can't defend Taiwan, and it makes no sense to try and defend Taiwan, because it is a losing proposition.

Alliances are, by definition and philosophically, “we” groups that ally against “them” and, therefore, confrontational. Like NATO, AUKUS is no exception.

Neither the EU nor Germany can win anything when going into conflict with China, but it will lose a lot, both economically and politically.

The West is divided on China. The US' political establishment is united in believing that China is a threat to the US (although the nature of the threat has never been defined). By contrast, most European countries do not regard China as a direct threat to Europe. Hence, the US and Europe have not achieved a unified strategy toward China.

While Afghans have so far only fled sporadically and in small numbers to countries neighboring Afghanistan this year, the situation remains highly fluid.

Australia is moving to become a pariah state, a state just like white Apartheid South African, whose only friend was the United States.

Success in preventing Taiwan becoming the Sarajevo of the 21st century will require extended, thoughtful, candid conversations between Xi and Biden and the governments they lead. The lack of such communication today leaves both nations vulnerable to an accident or incident that could lead to outcomes that would be catastrophic for both nations.

Western democracy has brought a lot of advantages to Western societies. At the same time, it has never produced a foreign policy without war, without export of weaponry, without concepts of enemies.

European leaders talk about a confrontation between "democracy" and "authoritarianism." They are extremely poorly educated in political philosophy and unable to understand the ideological stakes of the present moment. How can you criticize China if you have never even read a book about it? It is farcical.

This report is simply the latest phase of the long-term demonization of China, blaming China for the pandemic even though it was China that first identified the virus and shared the genome information as soon as it was available, and which implemented the most effective programs to contain and control the outbreak, saving probably millions of lives by mobilizing the whole people in a sustained public health campaign.

Russia and China should communicate with the new Afghan authorities in order to independently listen to their words, and look at their deeds by own eyes.

American media oftentimes reports US service members that died, but we rarely see how many Afghans have been killed and attacks like this.

The US will always use brutal and “cowboy” approaches.

Here is the basis of US double-standard behavior: Do as I say, don't do as I do!

It is in the interest of all to leave geopolitical tactics behind and to uncover the full facts and work together to prevent future spread of COVID19 variants.

The situation in Afghanistan has entered a crucial period after the US pulled out most of its forces and peace talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government are in a stalemate. In a recent exclusive interview with Global Times reporters Zhao Juecheng and Hu Yuwei (GT), Dr. Latif Pedram (Pedram), leader of the National Congress Party (NCP) of Afghanistan and a former Member of Parliament, said that the hasty withdrawal of the US and NATO troops from Afghanistan left “a devastated land and political system tainted with blood and hatred.” Pedram believes that the former Soviet Union and the US both failed in the country, and China is eyeing a constructive role in the future economic and social reconstruction of the war-torn country.

Editor's Note: The only legitimate goal of the novel coronavirus origins tracing should be "to understand SARS-CoV-2 and work cooperatively together to end the pandemic and to prevent future pandemics," said Jeffrey Sachs, a professor of economics at Columbia University in New York and head of the Lancet COVID-19 Commission. Sachs believes that the origins tracing should not become a geopolitical issue. He also suggests that the US "be transparent about the kinds of research underway on dangerous viruses in order to assess biosafety standards and to protect against laboratory-related spillovers." The following is the full transcript between the Global Times and Professor Sachs in a written interview regarding the virus' origins tracing.

You have to come to your own senses and come to terms with China's hard power and also what's maybe called soft power or how Chinese society, the Chinese model has worked for many decades.

Instead of open cooperation, striving for cooperation with all countries of the world, consolidation of efforts, we see selfish manipulation of public opinion, attempts to use the situation to draw new dividing lines, demonstrate their superiority, and weaken independently developing countries, such as Russia and China. Therefore, Article 9 is important. It shows the consent of China and Russia to cooperation, their understanding of threats and readiness to confront together those who are ready for aggression against our countries.

The Xinjiang issue is a very complex one involving many factors such as history and ethnic minorities. But in contrast, the West does not understand the Xinjiang issue at all; they even do not understand the history and current situation of Xinjiang.

Countries, I believe, should have self-determination and should be able to choose what political system they want. But what has happened in the last 20 years is American-style democracy has become distorted and is not letting the lower classes or the middle classes improve their quality of life.

It has been a little more than a year since the national security law for Hong Kong was enacted. How is the current political atmosphere different from that time? How will Hong Kong affairs affect China's relations with the US-led West in the future?

It is a large country like China and is not amenable for exploitation by others or becoming a junior partner for another power.

Some Western media and political analysts always try to obstruct China's development. Monopoly of capitalism is their aim, and those people who criticize are protected and fed by monopoly capitalists.

An independent EU arguing for the return to international law and for the ending destructive and illegal sanctions would be very beneficial to global relations and EU citizens.

China can play a very, very significant role in bringing peace to Afghanistan.

Decoding the CPC's success, scholars from both home and abroad believe four fundamental features of the Party have played an essential role: legitimacy, people-centered, resilience, and results-oriented.

The CPC, the Party, is a “work in process.” It will always be, and that is its strength.

Both sides of China and Europe being able to know more about what the other side is thinking is a really important part of the two coming to a workable agreement.

SCO includes 2 permanent members of the UN Security Council, and 4 nuclear powers. It is impossible not to respect such an organization: former SCO secretary general

The biggest danger to the Biden administration doesn't come from China. It comes from Donald Trump. If Donald Trump wins in 2024, then clearly the Biden administration would have failed. That's why Biden should focus on improving the livelihoods of the bottom 50 percent of American people to make sure that Donald Trump doesn't come back.

My summary of China's political reforms is very simple: The CPC has modernized itself in the country's modernization process of politics, society, and economics.

A military conflict between the US and China can engulf the whole world and be a huge setback to humanity. We need wisdom on both sides.

Editor's Note: China and Russia have seen increasing interactions and closer bonds as they face amid US pressure. The trilateral relations of China, Russia and the US are of great significance in the international order. Ahead of the upcoming Putin-Biden summit, Global Times reporters Xie Wenting and Bai Yunyi (GT) interviewed Russian Ambassador to China Andrey Denisov (Denisov) on a range of issues including bilateral and trilateral relations, COVID-19, and many others.

There is no one in sight in American politics who seems likely to match Nixon in his knowledge of foreign affairs or awareness of the requirements of statesmanship and can break the ice and improve relations with China at present.

I hope that informed diplomats in Canberra realise that the current Australian government approach of being “tough on China” is more sloganeering than serious strategy, and doubling down on this doesn't serve the national interest.

What are some ways Western countries can view their relations with a peacefully rising China? Why do dialogues between Western countries and China always seem difficult? Kerry Brown shared his opinions on these issues with Global Times reporter Sun Wei.

China's government is doing better for Chinese people than what the American government is doing for most Americans. It's really time for the US to stop lecturing other nations.

It is premature to claim categorically that the attack was deliberately targeting Chinese people. It will take time to gather the pieces of clues to reach a conclusion.

Rivalry will be hard to avoid, but conflict is not predetermined.

Sino-Russian relations are still not an alliance, but they are more than partnership. Both sides should carefully work on the parameters of new relations to address common security challenges. I would not exclude the alliance in the future, especially if the pressure from the West is growing up.

Australia believes, incorrectly in my opinion, that the US will protect its interests. That is naïve.

Skilled work requires a skilled workman and there is a great deal of work to be done to repair Sino-American relations.

China and the US, working together, should become bulwarks of peace and engines of prosperity, which would benefit all humanity.

In this period of transition, voices are urgently asking what might become of the China-US relationship once Biden takes office. Will the world's two largest economies recover their ties? Reset them in certain spheres? Will the West further intensify its aggressive anti-China campaign?

"If you look at the relationship between China and the US, I have called it a cooperative rivalry in which you have to pay attention both to the cooperation and to the rivalry." -- Joseph Nye

A Biden administration will certainly not be “soft” on China, but instead “smart” in combating Chinese initiatives that it opposes, competing successfully, and at the same time cooperating to preserve a world we can live in.

Washington's interest in Africa is mostly driven by a great power competition, which doesn't encourage confidence on the African side.

The US might go from a Cold War rhetoric to a “cold peace” approach that could leave room for a business-like relationship, allowing the two countries to sit down for negotiations.

If we had a more balanced public discussion in Australia, most people would be quite pragmatic, recognizing the legitimacy of China's rise and the benefits for Australia.

The US has repeatedly played its cards on the Taiwan question. This has significantly irritated the Chinese mainland. Will Washington shift its Taiwan policy from strategic ambiguity into strategic clarity? Will military clashes break out between China and the US because of the Taiwan question?

The world is changing with the downward spiral of China-US relations. Wild questions are being thrown around. Should China be blamed for the COVID-19 pandemic? Is there an increasing trend of innovation within Chinese companies? How might this affect other major technological powers?

Both the US and China have to invest in their partnerships with other countries in order to grow their influence. And the superpower with the best networks in the region, whether economic, diplomatic, or defense-based, will come up on top.

The UN reform should also reflect fairness. It should be reached based on consensus, and reform plans should be supported by all member states.

If the world's most important bilateral relationship is going to work, the US will have to meet China halfway. That means showing a level of courtesy, legitimacy, and respect that is due to a great power

The African Union on July 29 highly commended China for its continued support and assistance to Africa's capacity for disease control and prevention. In the eyes of African observers and people, what does cooperation with China look like? Does such collaboration actually lead to a "dept trap?"

There are so many false and unsubstantiated accusations and lies on the part of the West regarding the recent introduction of the national security legislation for Hong Kong.

The UK has taken a back-and-forth attitude toward China. It has followed the US's campaign against China. Why has Britain changed its course in such a short time? What should be a wise choice for the UK when pressured by the US to pick sides?

The COVID-19 is posing challenges for public health and economics worldwide. At this time, however, cooperation between China and Africa has not been disrupted. Is there anything new in China-Africa collaboration to fight the pandemic this time? How is continued cooperation under the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative going?

How is BRI's development in Zambia now? Why are US politicians constantly badmouthing Chinese investment in Africa? What are the differences between assistance from China and assistance from the US in the continent? Ngalande shared his views with the Global Times in a written interview.

The so-called “hawks” take a narrow view of China. They are more driven by fear of China than by confidence in our ability to realize the opportunities that China and Australia could achieve.

Britain's days of "handling" affairs in Hong Kong are over. Our ignominious extortion of China to obtain it was illegitimate from the beginning.

"Sino-American relations are clearly the worst they have been" since former US president Richard Nixon reached out to top Chinese leaders in the early 1970s, said Charles W. Freeman Jr., a former senior US diplomat who has witnessed the establishment and development of China-US diplomatic relations. He believes there are limits on how far the so-called China-US decoupling can go. However, the current bilateral antagonism will take decades to repair.

Stephen S. Roach, a faculty member at Yale University and former chairman of Morgan Stanley Asia, describes new shifts in the China-US relationship amid the COVID-19 pandemic. He wrote, "After 48 years of painstaking progress, a major rupture of the US-China relationship is at hand. This is a tragic outcome for both sides - and for the world." How should both countries manage the economic and geopolitical risks of a full rupture?

“Repeat a lie often enough and it becomes the truth,” this is how George Koo, a member of the leadership organization of Chinese Americans in the US, Committee of 100, describes US propaganda on COVID-19.

As the COVID-19 pandemic, a black swan event that is exerting devastating effects on people's health, social order, economy and even state-to-state relations, continue to rage on, voices calling for China-US cooperation are rising worldwide. How will the pandemic reshape China-US relations? Can China and the US stop the blame game and join hands in tackling the common threat? David Firestein (Firestein), president and CEO of the George H. W. Bush Foundation for US-China Relations shared his insights with Global Times (GT) reporter Yu Jincui.

China's leaders, and its people, were aware of the real and potential damages of viral epidemics and could take quick measures to control it without much controversy.

We need also to take seriously the many other threats in the world: wars, extreme nationalism, climate crisis, destruction of biodiversity, extreme poverty, massive inequality of income, and a billion people in the world living in extreme deprivation.

Global Times reporter talked to Graham Allison, professor at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard and author of Destined for War: Can America and China Escape Thucydides' Trap?.

The West is supposed to have an advantage in information openness and transparency. Why hasn't it taken preemptive measures to stop the virus from spreading rapidly even after they witnessed how the epidemic broke out in East Asia? What lessons can they learn from China? Would Western countries duplicate China's virus-control measures?

The speed at which the virus has been identified is a testament to the changes in public health and the growth of scientific expertise in China since SARS and the strong global coordination through the World Health Organization (WHO). The rapid dissemination of the virus' genetic sequence by Chinese authorities enabled scientists around the world to initiate research into potential vaccines and treatments. All of this is to be commended.

I think the great lesson is going to be that disease knows no barriers. There are no borders. It can and does go anywhere, everywhere. The initial reaction was to say this is a Chinese disease, which is absolute nonsense.

I'm also amazed to see how Chinese people cooperated patiently with the government. It's not an easy time. Nobody can deny that something like a virus is a big challenge for any country.

How does he analyze the current US policy toward China? Is there any possibility that the two countries will decouple? Ezra Feivel Vogel (Vogel) shared his insights in an exclusive interview with Global Times (GT) special reporter Wen Yan.

I don't think a new cold war is coming. I think there are a lot of things about the Cold War that are very different from the situation between the US and China today. Frankly, the current atmosphere and environment of globalization are two situations different from the Cold War period.

China does not present an existential threat to the US like Hitler did or like Stalin did.

I think that demonstrations in Hong Kong have got completely out of hand and violent. I think in many respects they can be described as nihilistic. The destruction of public property has a very bad effect on Hong Kong's economy and the viability and harmony of Hong Kong society.

Against the backdrop of US flip-flop during trade war consultations with China and intensifying Beijing-Washington rivalry, where China-US relations are heading and how they will affect the world have aroused concerns from scholars from both sides, including Jeffrey Sachs, director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University.

Where are China-US relations headed amid profound changes in the international landscape? How will intensifying bilateral competition influence the international order?