Chinese President Xi Jinping will pay his first state visit to the United States since he took office in 2013 from Sept. 22 to 25. [Special coverage]
Well-known scholars and ex-politicians from the West have shared their thoughts on China and China-U.S. relations ahead of Xi's visit.
The following are quotable quotes from their interviews with Xinhua.
-- James B. Steinberg, professor of international relations in Syracuse University and former Deputy Secretary of State of the United States, says China and the U.S. don't necessarily have to agree on everything.
"Trying to put it in a box or relate it to the past historic relations misses the richness and the complexity of the U.S.-China relationship we have today."
"Acknowledging differences and recognizing these are issues that have to be grappled with is better for the relationship for the long term than simply focusing on the positive side."
"There is strong recognition that it's in the U.S. interest for China to be successful, be peaceful and be prosperous."
-- Kevin Rudd, Mandarin-speaking former Australian Prime Minister, says China and the U.S. are like "a big noisy family" and their relations are "limited only by imagination."
"If anyone says there is a crisis between China and the U.S., that is hushuobada [Chinese equivalent for nonsense]."
"It's like a siheyuan [traditional courtyard home in Beijing]... Sometimes you get into fights, you have disagreements, you have no alternative but to work it out, and I think you can."
-- David M. Lampton, professor at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, says there is no reason to be negative about China's economy and that the U.S. should make room for China in the international system.
"You have 7-percent growth, or even you have 6 or 5 percent, that is in any fair estimate a high rate of growth... I see no reason to be negative about China's economic future."
"It is important that our two leaders accommodate each other in a sense that the U.S. be willing to make room for China in international system in a smooth and cooperative way."
-- Elizabeth Economy, senior fellow and director for Asia Studies at Council on Foreign Relations, says the new Chinese leadership is aggressive in reform and that there's enough room for both China and the U.S. to be leaders in the Asia Pacific.
"The one thing that struck me about the new Chinese leadership under Xi is just how aggressive he has been in terms of reforming across a full range of areas."
"I don't know if there could truly be competition for leadership. Each side has different strength and weakness... I think there is room enough for both countries to be leaders in the Asia Pacific."
-- Jeffrey Bader, senior fellow at Brookings Institution and Obama's principal advisor on Asia 2009-2011, says transparency between China and the U.S. could be more important than trust.
"I don't think that many countries fully trust each other anyway. Countries pursue their own interests. What is more important is to achieve predictability, to achieve transparency, to achieve a state where we understand what China wants and China understands what we want."
"[On military cooperation] We understand each other's intentions, even if we don't all agree, we understand where each other's sensitive points are, where each other's red lines are."
-- Nathan Gardels, editor-in-chief of The World Post and senior advisor to the Berggruen Institute, says the U.S. has not quite accepted China as a major world power, but it will accept soon. He suggests President Xi Jinping discuss jobs, growth and cyber security during his U.S. visit.
"I think the U.S. has a little trouble in accepting that China is a major power. Not yet equal to itself, but challenging. It's difficult to accept and it will accept it. It's a transition. What the U.S. really wants is stability."
"The public is concerned about cyber war, about jobs, and about the weakness of China's economy. They want to know that China's economy is doing well."
-- Christopher K. Johnson, Freeman Chair in China Studies at Center for Strategic and International Studies, says it's a sign of maturity to talk about contentious issues and that President Xi Jinping is "very comfortable in his own skin."
"It's a sign that we can speak frankly to each other about contentious issues... it's about deepening the cooperation right now, rather than asking 'do we have cooperation?'"
"President Xi may be one of the most confident Chinese leaders that we have seen in a long time, very comfortable in his own skin."
