> The Cold War never really ended, the players and the venues just shifted.

That makes a good soundbite, but I think that changing the players and venues means it's a different war.

> changing the players and venues means it's a different war

The war of Theseus?

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ship_of_Theseus)

This isn't really true. China and the United States, since after the Vietnam war until very very recently, have basically been allies. The United States has gone out of its way to support China's economic growth. I think the idea is, when they opened up, that they would transform into a democracy as they became prosperous, which was basically happening, until Xi took over.

Unfortunately, I don't think the population of either countries see things this way, and stoking the hatred is politically expedient in both countries. It's really too bad.