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.

There are voices inside China as well as the US that urge Beijing to punish North Korea’s “bad behavior” more harshly. But China and the US interpret the very end and means of the situation differently, In China’s mind, the situation is more a US responsibility rather than China’s, and use of coercion as the dominant tool has been proved ineffective.

Chinese President Xi Jinping’s three-nation tour in the Middle East heralds a shift from U.S. regime change to economic development, codifying China’s presence in the Middle East as a major energy buyer, major importer, infrastructure builder, and peace broker.

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 Barack Obama’s last State of the Union speech sought to cement his personal achievements by stressing his contribution to the recovery of the United States post-2008, and the U.S. position of excellence compared to China.

Despite a history of China-bashing during US presidential elections, other concerns are capturing the attention of candidates and voters this year. That could make preserving the equilibrium between China and the US easier this time around, if the will is there in both capitals.

As the two countries pursue a new major-power relationship, and China focuses on eliminating poverty for its citizens, there is more reason than ever for cooperation and easing mistrust. President Xi’s visit to the US was a herald for an expanding partnership, and issues like the South China Sea and third-party naysaying should not be allowed to disrupt relations.

Global developments have led China to take a more proactive approach in dealing with international issues in 2015 that saw China transition to practicing “major-country” diplomacy. As U.S.-China relations are turning more contentious and competitive, the two countries must seek convergence of common interests and avoid conflict and confrontation.

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.

With Japan’s pride and nationalist impulse to play a bigger international role now rising, its domestic debate on national-security and constitutional reform is set to intensify. Although rising powers tend to be revisionist powers, a politically resurgent Japan, strikingly, is seeking to uphold the present Asian political and maritime order.