On October 27, the U.S. Navy sent the guided-missile destroyer USS Lassen on a “freedom of navigation” patrol within 12-miles of a man-made islands.in the Spratly chain. Carpenter argues that there are less confrontational ways to pursue that objective without the kind of “in your face” challenge.

The embrace between London and Washington is political, while the London-Beijing connection is economic, which means both can operate at once. That China and the UK, with divergent political systems and at different stages of development, could model their relations on the basis of mutual respect and win-win cooperation should be a source of inspiration for Sino-US relations.

The remainder of the U.S. election season could play out any number of ways, but it appears a safe bet that Beijing will be spared the vitriol it witnessed in recent American political contests, perhaps the result of a cooling Chinese economy or meaningful advances in the bilateral relationship under presidents Obama and Xi.

China, a developing country, will faithfully fulfill its due obligations as a responsible country, in light of its own financial strength and based on fair and equitable scale of assessment, but will not accept a figure based on its “potential” as the world’s second-largest economy. The budget contribution rules, based on per-capita GDP, must be applied fairly to all countries according to existing rules.

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.

Since the first China-Asean official dialogue in July 1991, when then foreign minister Qian Qichen attended the 24th Asean Post-Ministerial Conference as a consultative partner, the relationship between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations has grown into a multilayered web of ties.

Beijing and Washington need to do is think of ways to translate the important agreements reached at the top level into reality. Beyond grand declarations, the “new model” needs to utilize a broad-based policy-making network that involves cyber and climate experts.

Looking back, the last ten years has been a transformational decade not just for China and Britain, but also for their bilateral relations. As the commercial ties grow more robust, cultural interflows getting more impressive, and collaboration on the international issues intensifies, the two countries are set to usher in a "Golden Decade" in their relations.

The China – U.S. relationship is like a troubled marriage. A long-term commitment, to be sure, but there are problems to work out, which often proves difficult because there is a lack of trust. At that point, what’s important is communication so we can resolve our differences and strengthen the relationship for a more optimistic future. That clearly was the purpose of President Xi Jin Ping’s recent visit to the United States.

China and US quite naturally have differences, because we have different history, culture and political systems -- and we are in different stages of development. The challenge is to recognize those differences and respect them, but not let them dominate the bilateral relationship.