Hello? Hello? Washington finds it hard to get through to Beijing.

The poor state of Beijing’s communications with Washington is making some U.S. officials nostalgic for the Cold War, when shared rules kept the peace with Moscow.

What the world needs now is a new Cold War.

Yes, you read that right.

And jarring though it will sound to those who remember Cold War I, it is that thought that is motivating intensified U.S. efforts to prevent a contentious relationship with China from becoming steadily – perhaps dangerously – worse.

This is not about pining for a reprise of the U.S-Soviet...