In the past, people measured China’s contribution to global economic growth through China’s GDP growth. But many factors in the GDP are the profits created by the foreign companies’ investments in China, so new ways of looking at the impact of China’s economy are in order.

Fluctuations in China’s currency and economy don’t have the wild effect on the global markets that many critics allege, and such accusations distract from a needed collective focus on maintaining stability.

All eyes are now focused on China’s current state visit: on October 20, Xi arrived in London at the invitation of Queen Elizabeth. His visit included the usual symbolic perks—a stay at Buckingham Palace, a ride in a royal carriage, and an address to the British Parliament—but his stay has also featured important trade and economic announcements, and has emphasized a new and unexpected honeymoon between two former enemies.

The gravest threat to American global leadership is neither Russia nor China but continued interest group-driven Congressional abandonment of the kind of balanced strategy that won the Cold War.

Moderate growth, low inflation, low labor participation rate and a growing wealth gap will be business as usual for a considerable period of time. Fundamental, systemic changes needed for the US to breakthrough its economic doldrums are unlikely in the divided political climate from now until the 2016 elections.

When playing up the mutually beneficial aspects of economic cooperation between the U.S. and China, many theorists often ignore the competitive and destabilizing elements introduced by structural economic concerns. The struggle for emerging markets and untapped resources is adversarial, and it may intensify as economic growth slows.

The downturn of global financial and foreign exchange markets, is causing concerns in the Americas. A Chinese trade and investment focus on the “Pacific Pumas” would be a prudent strategy and help reduce tensions and suspicions between the U.S. and China in the region.

A long-term stable RMB exchange rate with a two-way volatility is conducive to maintaining the financial asset price, to preventing a large-scale capital outflow, to controlling foreign-debt risk, to reducing the cost and burden of debt financing and to stabilizing economic growth anticipation.

As China allows more market influence to determine the value of the RMB, the exchange rate will become more volatile. Allowing the market to determine the value of the yuan is precisely what the West has long sought, and it will serve global interests, whether China’s currency rises or falls.

Tectonic shifts are occurring in the economy, financial markets, geopolitical strategy, and social policy. The ultimate test may well lie in managing the exceedingly complex interplay among these developments. Is China’s leadership up to the task, or has it bitten off too much at once?