A rocky path ahead

The past year was relatively tranquil for the China-US relations, with little interference by old flashpoint issues such as currency, human rights, Tibet and US arms sales to Taiwan.

Washington challenged Beijing early this year over allegations of China's hacking of US networks, but the controversy faded quickly since June when former US defense contractor Edward Snowden exposed massive US surveillance operations worldwide, including in China.

Still, the past year was far from hassles free. Signaling a rocky path ahead in building a new relationship, the otherwise perfect year came to a tense end with the two sides trading barbs over China's establishment of the Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) in the East China Sea.

Adopting double standards, the United States unjustifiably criticized China for declaring the ADIZ in November, though many countries including the United States itself and Japan had already made the same moves. Washington even flew two B-52 bombers over the zone in a show of force.

Apparently, maritime disputes in the Pacific have apparently become a new flashpoint issue that threatens to derail the China-US ties.

In another sense, this highlights the importance of furthering the China-US military-to-military exchanges for avoiding misunderstanding and miscalculation.

Last week, Chinese and US defense authorities effectively communicated after a recent encounter between warships of the two nations in the South China Sea.

Both China and the United States hope to set their relations on a course toward peace and mutual prosperity, "but it remains to be seen if they are willing to adjust their policies, goals and behaviors" for that sake, said Robert Daly, director of the Kissinger Institute on China and the United States at the Woodrow Wilson Center, a Washington-based think tank.