The tit-for-tat consulate closures by the U.S. and China have escalated tensions to a troubling new level. A full-on clash between the world's two largest economies would do immeasurable harm to a global economy already exhausted by the coronavirus. It is all the more crucial that Washington and Beijing find ways to head off a worst-case scenario.
The lows to which bilateral ties have sunk were symbolized in a speech last week by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who took direct aim at the entire political system led by the Chinese Communist Party.
