Commentary: World watches as China, US steer their ship of relations

by Xinhua Writers Tian Ye, Xu Haijing, Fengwu Jingjing

BEIJING, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- When the American merchant ship Empress of China arrived in the Middle Kingdom in 1784, the crew probably could have known they were making history, but they could never have predicted where the current of history would take the ship of China-U.S. relations.

More than two centuries after the vessel's arrival, the earliest contact between the two nations as believed by American historian Jonathan D. Spence, President Barack Obama's maiden visit to China, which came within a year after his inauguration, invited attentions and expectations on how the two countries would advance their relations and cooperate to tackle global challenges.

As American geostrategist Zbigniew Brzezinski said at a January seminar marking the 30th anniversary of the two countries' diplomatic ties, China and the United States have become important forces in global political and economic stability.

Since the ice-breaking visit by late U.S. President Richard Nixon to China in 1972 against the backdrop of the Cold War, bilateral cooperation has expanded to the areas of politics, economy, military and culture.

Both countries are aware of the importance of their relations.

Though Obama won the presidential election under the banner of "Change," he decided to keep the U.S.' China policy of communications and cooperation unchanged, according to Harry Harding, a leading China specialist in the United States who has advised several presidents.