A change in tone
Wang Yiwei, a professor of international relations at Renmin University of China, detected a subtle change in the U.S.' tone, followed by that of Southeast Asian nations, at the forum.
"Washington understands the consequences of U.S.-Sino confrontation, and conflict is not on the agenda," said Wang. "Still, it has to issue criticisms of China over the South China Sea to show its muscle and commitment to its Asian allies."
Adding to the toned-down trend, General Fan Chang-long, vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission, accomplished the highest-level trip by a Chinese military official to the U.S. since November 2012.
The nations signed a China-U.S. army dialogue mechanism agreement, the first cooperation document to be signed by the two armies in recent years, and vowed to reach agreement on the air-to-air annex to the code of conduct on military encounters, before President Xi Jinping visits the U.S. in September.
Both countries may hold joint exercises based on the code of conduct to make sure its terms are implemented correctly, and the U.S. has invited China to attend the Rim of the Pacific exercises next year.
Fan told Carter that the South China Sea issue is only an episode in the history of China-U.S. ties, and that the two sides should take the higher ground and look to the future by paying more attention to other, more important, regional and international issues.
Jin Canrong, deputy dean at the School of International Studies at Renmin University of China, said that the South China Sea has overshadowed overall ties, and that this is not in the best interests of the U.S..
China is not the country that started construction work, and its stance of peacefully resolving disputes remains unchanged, said Jin, adding that the U.S. stirred up the militarilization of the region and has a responsibility to ease the tension.
Policy unchanged
On Tuesday, the Foreign Ministry said China will complete its land reclamation project on some islands and reefs in the Nansha Islands in coming days as planned.
Mira Rapp Hooper, a South China Sea expert at the Washington think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies, said China's announcement of an end to the construction may have been timed with the aim of reducing the diplomatic temperature ahead of the meeting that starts on Tuesday, but it did not indicate any change in Chinese policy, Reuters reported.
Tao, the researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said both countries are clear on each other's stance and their huge shared interests, including the ongoing negotiations over a bilateral investment treaty. There is a consensus that they need to avoid conflict, since the South China Sea issue is unlikely to be solved in the near future, Tao added.
China and the U.S. are each other's second-largest trading partners, with two-way trade reaching $555 billion last year.
"The upcoming China-U.S. Strategic and Economic Dialogue will achieve positive results that are in both sides' interests, and the relationship needs to keep moving forward," Tao said.
