Andrew Small, Senior Transatlantic Fellow, German Marshall Fund & Associate Senior Policy Fellow, ECFR China is a global powerhouse. With an economy firing on all cylinders, it was the only major financial system not to contract in 2020, exporting $268 billion in goods in November alone. The West is inextricably reliant on these supply chains across the tech, construction, aerospace and automobile industries – as well as for medical supplies. And it’s not just a material dependency, either: only with input from Beijing can we begin to address our global health crisis and the climate emergency. Riven with its own democratic backsliding, political polarization, and the ravages of Covid-19, the West needs to stop preaching, accept our differences and start engaging with China on the basis of common humanity and respect.