Today marks the 40th anniversary of US president Richard Nixon's 1972 visit to China, a milestone in contemporary world history. The celebration is also an opportunity for the two countries to contemplate whether they can have another 40 years of peaceful co-operation.
Nixon's visit normalised US relations with China, enabling Beijing to begin its embrace of mainstream Western culture, thus laying the groundwork for its successful modernisation drive. Since then, bilateral ties have flourished beyond the wildest dreams of 1972.
But tensions have risen in recent years as China has emerged as a potential US rival. Last month, the Obama administration unveiled a new defence strategy that emphasises security threats from China and mandates a military pivot to Asia.
Beijing has levelled a barrage of criticism at the document, seeing it as the latest in a recent set of aggressive US moves encircling China in the Asia-Pacific region. Meanwhile, a more assertive China, with its heightened nationalistic fervour, is poised to take an even tougher stance in disputes over maritime territories that it traditionally claims in the South China Sea.
These developments have exposed a lack of mutual trust, and pose challenges to the long-term stability of relations. China fears the US will thwart its transition from a land power to a sea power, while the US fears China's unchecked maritime ambitions will further erode its sole superpower status.
In fact, the Chinese are not as enthusiastic as Americans in predicting the decline of the US. Last year, for instance, Beijing's leading scholars of American studies published a report foreseeing several more decades of unchallenged US global dominance while asserting that America's fate cannot be predicted by its temporary setbacks.
On the other hand, China's continued rise will necessitate two things: successful political reform and stable relations with the US. Since Nixon's visit, all of China's accomplishments have been achieved through reforms and opening up to the outside world, particularly through learning from the US.
