Since President Xi Jinping took office in 2013, China has been pursuing its own version of strategic rebalancing in foreign policy. China aims to re-position itself as “a state in the middle”, acting as a bridge among the developed and developing countries and maximizing the strategic space. If Chinese diplomacy and Beijing’s “connectivity” can ease the crisis in the Middle East, the achievement would affirm the nation’s rise to great-power status.

With no real threat to America’s position in the world, Beijing and Washington need to intensify their efforts to build trust and promote understanding. The best way to achieve that is to expand exchanges at all levels of society, a process that has been a triumph of diplomacy ever since a famous ping-pong game made headlines in 1970.

President Xi Jinping on Wednesday urged the United States to work with China to find solutions to more global issues and develop bilateral ties.

As the new year dawns, the U.S. still struggles with the effort to shape the world with itself as the center. Resisting the opportunity to build a more positive relationship with China, underpinned by stronger and closer cooperation, keeps Washington trapped in the past, while many of its allies, including Britain, Europe, Canada and Australia, have embraced a multipolar world that is no threat to the U.S., except to its national ego.

In a new world order, in the interest of the US and the whole world, the Washington has to make continued efforts to work with others to deal with the complicated world challenges, otherwise the successes and progress already made – from Iran to Paris and into the future -- could be forfeited.

Competing visions, one with the UN as its spiritual center and the US counterview with itself at the heart of a unipolar world, are vying to shape the world’s future. The US remains the sole superpower in the world, but its attempt to remain the driving force in global governance is doomed to fail in a changing, multipolar world.

The Chinese government believes that development is key in solving all problems in China: Development is the foundation for security, and security is the guarantee for development while China seeks political solutions through peaceful consultations, opposes intervention into other countries’ internal affairs, and promotes the global governance system to be more equitable and reasonable.

If Washington embraces cooperation instead of pursuing rivalry, all partners can harvest good results, and the US can still be a powerful partner. Why not do so?

By re-engaging with its neighbors, especially American allies, in a formal alliance system, China would set up the function of preventative cooperation. That would help to maintain regional peace and security.

China’s “One Belt, One Road” initiative would create multiple economic corridors encompassing more than 60 countries Asia, North Africa and East Africa, linking the most dynamic East Asia Economic Zone with the advanced European Economic Zone. Intraregional free trade and infrastructure funding will enable more efficient circulation of currency and culture.