Last night the Senate voted to bring to the floor a blunt, last-ditch measure aimed at pressuring China to revalue its currency, which has been rising but only at a painfully slow rate. While a faster appreciation is in the interest of both the U.S. and China - the issue is not zero-sum - many countries acting together would have been preferable to the U.S. pressuring China alone.   In addition, the economic relationship between the two countries is complex - we will have to address several trade disagreements, and strengthen the foundations of our own economy, to redress the current imbalance with China. More broadly, a serious China strategy encompasses issues from security and economics to human rights and energy. Our economic and security interests, and our values, demand that U.S. policymakers firmly and continually press American interests -- and that no one issue should be allowed to crater the whole relationship. Both sides should adhere to that principle.

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Today leaders from the U.S. and China meet in Washington for the annual U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue. There will be no dramatic breakthroughs -- instead, as Brookings's Eswar Prasad writes, the relationship moving forward should focus on "methodical if slow progress rather than on resolving major conflicts or arriving at dramatic breakthroughs." The talks will be comprehensive: a push from the U.S. for China to rebalance its economy and allow its currency to rise, making U.S. exports more competitive; a forum for the U.S. to voice concerns over China's human rights violations; and meetings between senior military officials to discuss strategic issues. All this comes on the heels of promising diplomatic cooperation -- China's efforts to reinvigorate talks with North Korea and its choice not to block UN action on Libya -- and reminds us that the complexity of the U.S.-China relationship goes beyond slogans.

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Today President Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao meet with 18 American and Chinese business leaders to discuss economic and trade policy. The meeting takes place amid an American domestic climate that increasingly sees Chinese economic power as a threat to America. A Pew Research Center poll found that "Americans by a margin of 60% to 27% think that China's economic strength is more of a problem than its military might." The US economy does face major challenges in the years ahead, but meeting them requires a can-do outlook and a firm grip on three core realities:  Economics is not a zero-sum game. Economic ties between the two nations have enormous potential to be mutually beneficial, but to do so China must play by the rules - and the Obama administration is pressuring China to do just that. China has seen tremendous economic growth but faces equally tremendous challenges of its own.  Finally, the most important thing to be done for the American economy is increasing American competitiveness in education, infrastructure, innovation, finance and trade - ensuring that the US flourishes and that businesses, workers and communities all benefit.

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Chinese President Hu Jintao arrives in Washington today.  After a year in which military relations were suspended and ties were strained across the board, the U.S. and China are looking for ways to cooperate on global challenges such as combating terrorism, curbing nuclear proliferation, addressing climate change, global pandemics, and economic crises.  Security experts and China hands agree that a decline into Cold War style hostility will harm the interests of the US, China, and the rest of the world - and that the US retains an enormous military advantage.  Washington can and must find ways to make its concerns heard on economics, human rights, and other differences, while also exploring areas ripe for partnership and encouraging China to join us in shouldering global burdens.

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Economic and security issues will share top billing during Chinese President Hu Jintao's visit to Washington later in the month. Experts in both countries and across the partisan divide have stressed the need to move away from the on-again, off-again cycle that has recently defined U.S.-China military relations. Broader and deeper relationships between  military and security officials can reduce misunderstandings and miscommunications - and clarify intentions and capabilities. They also offer an opportunity to heighten Chinese contributions to peace and stability in Asia and globally.

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The rise of China is undoubtedly one of the most critical strategic developments of the 21st century. While it may not rival Afghanistan or Iran in terms of immediate media salience, the President’s first visit to China has clearly demonstrated both the importance of this rising power and how the Obama administration relates to it. With subdued atmopherics as backdrop, the Obama team has effectively worked for the past 10 months to advance our interests in a positive manner with China across several fronts, including through the first ever U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue, which was convened this past July in Washington. The Administration can point to several major accomplishments on energy and climate change, the global economy and trade, and nonproliferation and international security.

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Senior American and Chinese leaders began two days of high level talks yesterday under the framework of the Strategic and Economic Dialogue. In recognition of China’s emergence on the international scene, the Obama administration has expanded the dialogue with China to encompass a whole range of international strategic and economic issues, such as the global economic recession, climate change, and nonproliferation. The Administration has also quietly made clear its larger strategy: that progress on contentious areas such as human rights and democracy promotion, can best be encouraged by engagement on areas where there is agreement – removing the excuses that the last eight years’ policies gave many around the world for ignoring or downgrading genuine US concerns for the freedom and well-being of others. But as the Obama administration is seeking to build a constructive relationship, many conservatives have described China as the next big enemy – using its rise to justify many unnecessary weapons programs, such as the F-22. Conservatives also seem to discount the strategic and economic costs of China adopting a confrontational approach toward the U.S. While the U.S. and China won’t always see eye to eye, the President explained that “that only makes dialogue more important.”

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The Beijing Olympics have put an intense spotlight on China’s remarkable economic and social progress as well as its continuing problems: social and ethnic unrest, pollution, human rights. China is not yet our friend, but it is not our enemy, either. We will have to deal with China as a major economic, political and military power and work together on issues of common concern.

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China is a country on the rise – economically, politically, and militarily. Its dramatic economic emergence has a direct impact on the U.S., especially as our economies become increasingly interconnected. It is important to ensure that China becomes a responsible member and stakeholder in the international community, but we must also stand up to China when its actions conflict with our values and interests. China is not yet our friend, but it is not our enemy, either. How we manage this relationship will be of major importance to the future of the U.S.

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