The high stakes show-down between the U.S. and China on tariffs, trade and cyber security threatens to disrupt the global economy.

Growing tensions were temporarily put on pause during a recent meeting at the Group of 20 summit between President Trump and China's leader Xi Jinping. But many long-term challenges remain. Relations with China are the most important foreign policy issue.

The Trump Administration imposed tariffs on $250 billion of Chinese goods and has pushed back against China's trade policies and aggressive attempts to exploit U.S. technology to boost its own economy.

Under Xi, China has reversed a three-decade trend towards greater political and economic opening. In this episode we look at how the U.S. and the West should deal with a more assertive, confident and anti-democratic China.

Our guest is the respected scholar, Elizabeth Economy, Director for Asia Studies at The Council on Foreign Relations and the author of the highly praised book, "The Third Revolution: Xi Jinping and the New Chinese State. She is among "a distinguished group of China specialists" who have long favored engagement with Beijing, but are now advocating the United States take a more forceful approach as China attempts to undermine democratic values.

"Managing this relationship is essential," says Elizabeth Economy. "It cannot allowed to it to spiral down too far."