Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit Trinidad and Tobago, Costa Rica and Mexico and hold a meeting with US President Barack Obama at Sunnylands, the Walter and Leonore Annenberg Estate in California. This will be a new important step in the full swing of Chinese diplomacy since the new leadership took office.

An earlier Xi-Obama summit, writes Qian Liwei, is expected to pave the way for a more positive, mature and predictable Sino-U.S. relations based on mutual respect, reciprocal benefit and win-win co-operation.

The dawn of the global financial crisis has reshaped the global landscape. Now, the United States faces a strategic decision to either embrace peace and development or continue to seek hegemonic superiority. As Wang Yusheng points out, embracing this new opportunity is key for stability in the international community.

Chen Jimin outlines four challenges facing the Obama administration’s foreign policy agenda over the next four years. While the United States tends to view China as a direct competitor due to its rise in power, Jimin explains that other emerging economies will also challenge the United States’ status as a hegemon.

Last week marked the 10th anniversary of the beginning of the Iraq War, and analysts continued to debate the impact of the US-led invasion. Tao Wenzhao explains that the United States still has lessons to learn from its controversial decision to topple the regime of Saddam Hussein.

As tensions over cyber security increase between US and China, diplomats in both countries are walking a tightrope to resolve an issue that has become too big to ignore. Regardless of the differences, both must find a way to navigate the cyber security waters before it leads to a situation that spins out of control.

After World War II, its relations with the United States have been at the core of Japan’s foreign and security policies. However, there have been two different opinions within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party on the relationship.

Following a difficult confirmation process, Chuck Hagel has been sworn in as the 24th U.S. Secretary of Defense. Hagel faces many challenges including the DPRK nuclear threat, the dispute over the Diaoyu/Senkaku islands, and how to navigate the bilateral relationship with China.

Mirroring foreign relations following World War II, it appears Japan is once again beholden to the US to preserve regional security. The US must toe a careful line between advancing Japanese interests and containing China.

Tensions in US-China relations have not been eased by President Obama’s attempts to revitalize the American economy by establishing a free trade agreement with the European Union. As China has yet to become the United States’ preeminent trade partner, Colin Moreshead urges Beijing to make the first overture to improve trade between the world’s two largest economies.