And they must increasingly abide each other in a world where they occasionally bump into each other. The U.S., for example, has a longstanding security relationship with Taiwan. While Taiwan will not get all it wants from the United States and American policy-makers should be strategic about their sales, Taiwan will continue to receive special military assistance. China does not like that fact, but there it is and there it shall remain until the mainland and Taiwan improve their own relationship. That said, the discord over security issues should not preclude China and the U.S. from maintaining a vital economic relationship.
Nations can differ and remain trading partners.
In fact, China and the U.S. should strive to further trade between their two countries. The latter proposition depends upon how well both governments contain their angry voices. The U.S. has old-school members of Congress who recoil at trading with China. Both stand as deterrents to a new version of realpolitik. Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed in Washington and Beijing after some early testy exchanges over the collision.