Scheduled on June 7-8 in California with picturesque settings, the upcoming informal summit between Presidents Xi Jinping and Barack Obama will be an unprecedented event in several ways.
It is rare in history that a Chinese president holds talks with his U.S. counterpart less than three months after assuming office. At the same time, the informal arrangements and format of the meeting will also be an innovation for the chronicles of China-U.S. ties.
Given the complex relationship between Beijing and Washington, there will be a full plate of issues on the table during the first get-together of Xi and Obama since the latest leadership transitions in both countries.
As expected, there will be a long laundry list of bilateral, regional and global topics including trade, currency, debt, the Korean Peninsula, Syria and the global financial crisis.
Above all of the conventional business between the two countries, however, the leaders face a larger and unparalleled undertaking - how to build a new paradigm of relationship between two major powers.
Redefining inter-power relations will not be a facelift since it will set the rules of the game for China-U.S. ties in the new era. It will also hold the key to resolving whatever problems that might arise between the world's largest developing and developed nations.
The new concept of inter-power ties is still being developed but an agreed principle is that Beijing and Washington need to expand their converging interests and effectively manage disputes. That's with a proper understanding of each other's strategic intentions and a long-term and full-range view toward the overall relationship.
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