The China-US relationship is the most critical in today’s world. With the continued focus on the US pivot to Asia, many question the stability of the relationship as well as the goals of the two parties. While the US and China have differences, they should not view each other as threats, but rather seek to promote and develop their relationship.

Increased military exchanges and cooperation between China and the US can be regarded as a step towards building a new type of Sino-US military relationship, writes Wu Zurong.

While unrealistic to expect the United State to suspend its arms sales to Taiwan, Liu suggests that the US and Chinese defense chiefs agree to build “a sustained, substantive military to military relationship” to bolster ties between the world’s two biggest economies.

Following a meeting of the world’s top leaders at the G-20 Summit in St. Petersburg, Russia, Liu Jiangyong examines Japan’s relations between China and the Republic of Korea and notes that several factors contribute to the historical departure Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s current administration has taken compared to previous administrations.

Examining recent developments in the Asia-Pacific Stephen Harner posits that the true source of instability in East Asia is a result of the post-WWII alliance between the U.S. and Japan, rather than efforts to expand Japan’s constitution and enlarge its maritime presence.

After recently conducting counter-piracy exercises in the Gulf of Aden, increased naval cooperation between the United States and China appears to be on a positive tract. As Su Xiaohui explains, China’s aspiration to become a maritime power should not be perceived as a threat to the United States.

Political dysfunction and distraction in Washington continues to threaten the prominence of the United States abroad. As David Rothkopf, CEO and editor at large of Foreign Policy, explains America must learn from Asia or get used to following it.

Identifying six legitimate maritime interests for China in the South China Sea, Shen Dingli explains how China perceives its current territorial disputes and offers recommendations for easing tensions in the region.

Although the recent S&ED and SSD discussions and the Xi-Obama summit highlighted many points of agreement between the U.S. and China, the coming months will focus on some of the more difficult issues in the relationship such as military-to-military exchanges and trade disputes.

Congressional involvement in foreign policy can cause difficulties for any U.S. administration. Recent resolutions passed regarding the South and East China Seas and their territorial disputes, although seemingly harmless, carry a deep undertone and may be thrusting the U.S. government further into a regional issue that it cares to be involved.