Huang said the US intervention has led to two levels of imbalances, with one between China and the United States as the first one. The other is the imbalance between China and its neighboring countries such as Vietnam and the Philippines.

Given these imbalances, it is clear that China has been trying to avoid conflicts, showing China's willingness to safeguard peace in the region.

"In some sense, the South China Sea issue was sensationalized on purpose," Huang said.

Huang said before 2010, media coverage on the South China Sea issue was no more than 30 pieces. However, after the US high- profile "pivot to Asia," reports about the issue went up to over 3, 000.

"It's because China has become stronger," Huang explained. "A long period after the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, China's foreign policy was to safeguard its own land. However, it now has the ability to defend its own rights in the South China Sea."

Despite the differences, US defense chief Carter also noted cooperation between the two major countries in recent years.

He said beyond exercises and military-to-military cooperation, China and the United States have also cooperated in confronting world challenges, including natural disasters and other humanitarian crises.

This reflects Chinese President Xi Jinping's security concept for Asia, which he called for a common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security strategy in the region.

"If China could perform as a leading role in mutual development, it will foster basic common interests within the region, and it is therefore possible to achieve common security," Huang said. "And this also echoes what Xi has said, China today is the determined advocate and strong defender of world peace."