Difference and rivalry exist between China and the US, but it is also true that they share common interests and need cooperation. This “rivalry plus cooperation” relationship will continue, despite talk of war that some fear could develop into a self-fulfilling prophesy.

China believes that it can cultivate a relationship with the U.S. based on peaceful co-existence. However, the South China Sea is proving a collision point between U.S. hegemony and Chinese interests in safeguarding its own security and development.

There is an apparent risk that the US and China will each believe that they promote a win-win international order while suspecting the other of “power politics.” However, the real issue is not a simple choice between mutually beneficial interactions and realpolitik. What is really at stake is the question of which rules will govern a post-realpolitik order, and what kinds of power structures are necessary to support it. Here the US and China have much work to do in order to find converging paths.

If China and the US engage in earnest to build the new type of big-power relationship proposed by President Xi Jinping, based on the principles of “no confrontation, no conflict, mutual respect and win-win through cooperation”, It will be a great help in reducing fears in America about China’s rise.

Over three administrations by both the Democratic and Republican parties, the S&ED has helped China and the US to pursue a new model of major-country relationship, and its effectiveness should be cherished by both sides. After the presidential elections this year, it will be critically important to guarantee a smooth development of China-US relations.

Despite US jitters about China’s rise, Beijing and Washington should build a partnership along the lines of what President Xi Jinping calls a “new type of major-country relationship” – no clash, no confrontation, mutual respect, and win-win through cooperation.

On 19 March, when attending the China Development Forum 2016 at Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, former State Councilor Dai Bingguo had a dialogue with former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger on the issue of avoiding the "Thucydides Trap".

The two countries are not rushing toward collision but thriving on forward-moving, parallel tracks. That’s been the record for more than 30 years, despite fretful narratives of potential conflict.

The official American statement on adhering to one-China principle and hope for peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits helped mitigate suspicions in China and further testified to the US strategic plan to compete with China mainly in the economic field. This will help the two countries to sustain competitive cooperation and for China to readjust and reform its domestic policies.

The US will not change its Janus-faced policy of engagement and containment. But the fundamentals that buoy steadily developing China-US ties will not change, because they embody the fundamental needs of the development of both countries, and the trend of world history.