Linked as never before, China and the United States face new challenges tackling global issues ranging from the financial crisis, nuclear non-proliferation, and climate change, 30 years after they formally established diplomatic ties.

Here are some milestones in the two countries' relationship:

April 1971 - "Ping Pong diplomacy" kicks off when a US table tennis team travels to China, thawing ties that had been frozen since the People's Republic of China was founded in 1949.