China-U.S. relations began the year on a positive note, when President Donald Trump and Vice Premier Liu He signed the phase one trade deal at the White House. But that was mid-January and by then COVID-19 was already spreading, bringing new challenges to the relationship between the world's two largest economies. While it may seem like good short term politics for President Trump to criticize China, long term the two countries have more to gain from cooperation, than confrontation.

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