Since the incumbent Barack Obama has won re-election in the US presidential race, more consistency is expected in US foreign policy in the next four years. China has paid great attention to US rebalancing towards Asia and the increasing US presence in the region.

David Shambaugh charts the course for U.S.-China relations and writes that the global importance of US-China relations means that this is a marriage in which divorce is not an option. The stakes are high. Yet the competitive trend is likely to continue into the future—absent a newly emergent global threat that challenges both nations to forge greater cooperation.

Many in China see the US “pivot” to Asia and the development of the Air-Sea-Battle strategy as clear provocations aimed to contain China. Only through frank dialogue between top leaders, academics and strategists, as well as the next generation of military leaders, in both countries can we hope to lessen the strategic distrust that exists between the US and China.

The US views China as a key to developing a peaceful, prosperous, and secure Asia-Pacific in the 21st century, therefore, building a healthy, stable, reliable, and continuous military-to-military relationship with China is of great significance.

Despite rising tensions in the South China Sea, conflict can and should be averted. A good first step would be to acknowledge that the South China Sea is part global good, part sovereign territory. Through greater dialogue, trust-building and transparency, informal rules of the sea can accommodate both a rising China and a strong America.

The Asia-Pacific region is very dynamic and fast changing, not only in economic terms but also in security terms. Three recent developments will have profound implication on regional security.

Clinton’s ongoing visit to the Asia-Pacific brings nothing new. It’s just another round of furtherance of the so-called “Asia pivot” strategy, which, along with smart power, will be the two legacies left by this most diligent Secretary of Sate in the US history, since she will quit her job whether Obama is president or not the next year.

Considering the dominant position that the US alliance system has enjoyed in regional Asian security affairs, Asia-Pacific division can be expected, which will be a disaster not only for China, but also for the US, its regional allies and the world as a whole.

Conflicting signals sent by the US regarding the South China Sea territorial disputes have served to heighten distrust between the US and China ahead of Defense Secretary Panetta’s upcoming visit to China. Although unlikely to produce concrete results, these high level visits serve to clarify intentions and alleviate strategic distrust between China and the US.

During his visit to Vietnam in early June, U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta displayed eagerness to have the U.S. military return to the bases it once occu