With U.S. President Joe Biden taking office at the White House, the American people and, indeed, the rest of the world could reasonably look forward to a period in American foreign relations that was less volatile than under his predecessor. Of primary concern would be the new president's attitude towards China. The relationship between the U.S. and China, the world's two largest economies, would set the general tone for international diplomacy.

So, Biden's decision on who would be his Secretary of State was awaited with keen interest around the world. In the event, the man he chose was Antony Blinken, a soft-spoken State Department veteran who, on the surface at least, represents a sharp departure from his sometimes abrasive predecessor, Mike Pompeo.

However, three months into the Biden presidency, there are few signs of any easing of the tension that characterized Sino-U.S. relations under the former U.S. President Donald Trump.

In a May 2 interview with Norah O' Donnell on CBS' 60 Minutes, Blinken addressed the perceived challenge posed by China. On the economy, he downplayed the threat, even when O'Donnell put it to him that China's gross domestic product was expected to surpass the United States "as early as 2028." Instead of sounding an alarm, he referred to the challenge facing both countries in "maximizing their potential."

In other areas, though, Blinken was more forthright, describing China as "the one country in the world that has the military, economic, diplomatic capacity to undermine or challenge the rules-based order." Although he acknowledged that "our purpose is not to contain China, to hold it back, to keep it down," he still insisted that the U.S. intended "to uphold this rules-based order that China is posing a challenge to."

Such contentious comments are in sharp contrast with the positive remarks addressed to Blinken by Yang Jiechi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, in Alaska on March 18. "Both China and the United States are major countries in the world," Yang said, "and together we shoulder important responsibilities to the peace, stability and development of the world and the region."

Fifty years ago, the then U.S National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger flew to China to prepare the way for a 1972 visit to Beijing by the then U.S. President Richard Nixon – a historic trip that would eventually lead to bilateral diplomatic relations being established seven years later.

From the outset of the normalization process, China-U.S. relations have been based on the common understanding that both sides recognize and respect each other's different social systems. Today, the fact that China's economy has achieved virtual parity, and that its global influence is in the ascendancy should not be seen in the U.S. as a threat.

In other words, the two countries should seek common ground while reserving their differences – a precept with its origins in the Chinese classic, I Ching, or The Book of Changes.

These days, more and more Americans are taking up studying the Chinese language, along with its history and culture. With time, it's to be hoped that greater knowledge may translate into greater understanding so that Americans come to appreciate that China today is still profoundly influenced by ancient wisdom that advocates peace and harmony. 

If this knowledge eventually filters through to those in power in the U.S., then the two countries may truly be able to start working together for the greater good of the world, based on mutual respect and acceptance that in some respects they are different.

As no less a person than Confucius is credited with saying: "The gentleman aims at harmony, and not at uniformity."