The US has shown no desire to defend the arbitration award with force as hinted by the exercise in the Philippine Sea. Although the American strategic community now sees markedly greater risks of military conflict with China, US decision-makers also don’t believe that the US has the ability to change or stop China’s international conduct by force.

Trump’s security and diplomatic policies may offer opportunities for China, but that would be secondary compared with the damage he may inflict on China-US economic and financial relations. The China-US economic and financial relationship means a lot to the Chinese economic health at home, especially in the face of the nativism, populism and nationalism that seems to be sweeping the globe.

Compared with diplomatic issues, the new administration is facing more challenges in domestic affairs, which is also more critical for Trump’s re-election four years from now. For a Trump administration, with the edge of the Republican-controlled Congress, it is urgent to promote domestic policies and reforms. The alliance system, therefore, is not among the top priorities or issues, and its institutional nature insulates it from the whims of a single individual.

This December marks the 15th anniversary of China’s accession to the World Trade Organization. In the past 15 years, China could have played a bigger role in promoting global governance had the world’s institutional structures allowed it optimum participation in the global rule-making process. That will be China’s main objective in the future.

China favors building new international relations based on a win-win approach through cooperation. China’s pursuit of global partnership should not be misperceived as an effort by China to overthrow the current international system and global governance architecture, but as an attempt to contribute to maintaining the world order from a position of strength and comparability.

American foreign policy debates tend to focus disproportionally on the Middle East. To correct this tendency, the Obama administration’s adopted the so-called pivot to Asia (aka “rebalancing”): to refocus U.S. policy in proper proportion to the full range of the nation’s challenges and interests. Indeed, this broader perspective on today’s interconnected world and diligent approach to building the necessary coalitions, are the main elements that distinguish Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton’s pragmatic approach from the Republicans’ bullheaded approach.

(Fu Ying addressed at the Valdai International Discussion Club.)It's an honor to be invited to the Valdai International Discussion Club.Founded in 2004, the Val

Recent speeches given to the UN General Assembly by the U.S. and China illustrate sharp differences in areas such as domestic political systems, appropriate roles and relationships in world politics, and dispute resolution. Russia backed China on many points that the U.S. opposes. These disagreements will continue to play a large role in shaping the international arena.

September’s global summits saw the U.S. and China agreeing to abide by the Paris Accord on limiting emission of greenhouse gases, an influential and important step in encouraging others to follow their lead. On other issues, the two countries took divergent paths.

The two governments have been rather successful in managing their differences and avoiding possible crises, and they have the determination and the ability to continue safeguarding the overall China-US relationship. In the new normal, both sides need to direct their efforts at clearly explaining to their people the strategic intent of no conflict and no confrontation as well as their willingness to cooperate.