The G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, is a microcosm of strained international cooperation in dire times. The central attraction of the summit was a highly scripted meeting between US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping. The bilateral meeting can be best described as a “squabble with smiles”. The zeitgeist of the microcosm at the Mulia Hotel in Bali – where Biden and Xi met – is the ‘bipolar world order’ moment. The meeting lasted over three hours and included discussions about the most challenging areas of the US-China relationship. There was much riding on the ‘personal relationship’ Biden...