Without doubt, 2020 was the most challenging year for President Xi Jinping since he took over the top job in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the military in 2012. He steered the country through its worst health crisis in recent history and grappled with an economy hit hard by the global Covid-19 pandemic, as well as a bruising trade and technology war with the United States that is not about to end. RSIS Associate Research Fellow James Char, a China scholar, said: “Although the US-China rivalry will likely soften somewhat after Joe Biden assumes power, Beijing will continue to be wary of Washington as it pushes ahead with enhancing its military capabilities to challenge US supremacy in the western Pacific. “China’s military strategists will focus much of their attention on the US as they adopt a long-term rivalry with Washington and this will continue to be the case in 2021.”