While the Xi-Obama Summit was meant to mend US-China relations, Donald Kirk explains the lack of discourse on Asia-Pacific regional issues has only heightened tensions between North and South Korea.

American and Chinese audiences have received the Sunnylands summit between Presidents Xi and Obama very differently. According to Tao Wenzhao, the meeting was of great historical significance to China-US relations, marking a new path for major power relations.

The meeting of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow brought about several notable agreements, signifying the growing social, political and economic ties between China and Russia. As China’s reliance on Russian energy increases, so do the broader implications this strategic alliance could have on US geopolitics.

Japan’s recent foreign policies have put a strain on the potential US-Japan-South Korea trilateral relationship. If right wing Japanese nationalists remain in power and continue the exploitation of the US-Japan relationship, the US may need to adjust its policy.

The "shale gas revolution" of the US looks to be capable of offering many different opportunities for Washington. It will substantially lower the amount of oil that the US imports from the gulf. It may also enable the US to begin supplying cleaner LNG to China.

One of the main breakthroughs from the informal summit between the leaders of China and the US was that Presidents Barack Obama and Xi Jinping did agree to work together on keeping North Korea in check and the Korean peninsula nuclear free, writes George Koo.

The Xi-Obama summit at Sunnylands will be a focal point for many this weekend. Although competition between the two nations interests is inevitable, cooperation, transparency and mutual reassurance may be hindrances to escalation. Points of discussion and potential understanding include, cybersecurity, North Korea, energy, strategic weapons, trade. However, each leader must maintain his state’s agenda and strategic interests as well.

Latin America is quickly emerging as an area of interest to China. Long believed to be the “backyard” of the United States, this paradigm may be changing as China’s influence and involvement with several Latin American countries grows at astonishing rates and the United States attempts to hold on to its waning influence in the region.

In the struggle for global hegemony, Asia will be a key region. The United States’ influence in the region is at a key point as China continues to rise. With the Xi-Obama summit arriving, the definition of each states’ interests by its leader will be critical in the creation of a potential new relationship between the world’s two largest powers.

Despite a strenuous past between the U.S. and China regarding North Korea, recent months have shown a change from the Chinese government. As Chinese criticism of Pyongyang has come with other pressures from China, there may be reason for U.S. leaders to be optimistic about a partnership in the issue.