Missie H. Dowey from Irmo, South Carolina, looks at a portable stencil-cut-print machine at an exhibition on the development of Christianity in China, which was staged in the United States last September to showcase the diversified life of the 23 million Christians in China. [Provided to China Daily]

In the 2010-11 academic year, 158,000 Chinese students enrolled in American colleges and universities, roughly 10 times the number of US students going to China, according to the Institute of International Education (IIE).

Another noticeable trend in China's efforts in public diplomacy was the recent rapid growth of Chinese language learning across America.

According to the Confucius Institute Headquarters, more than 350 Confucius Institutes and 500 Confucius Classrooms have been founded in 101 countries and regions. The US is the most active and successful partner in the program, with 70 institutes, the most in a single country.

The US has also shared the same strategies and given much attention to person-to-person exchanges.

Last year, to encourage a more outward-looking attitude among American students, the Obama administration launched the "100,000 Strong" project, which will increase the number of Americans studying in China to 25,000 a year over four years through private sector support.

New US Ambassador to China, Gary Locke, has been actively engaged with the Chinese public since he took office in August, setting up social media accounts, meeting young students and improving the US visa application process.

A well-known example was US Vice-President Joe Biden's visit to China in August. With his granddaughter, Biden experienced Chinese cuisine first-hand in a local restaurant. Accompanied by Vice-President Xi, Biden later traveled to Chengdu, where he talked with students at Sichuan University. The two leaders visited a high school rebuilt after the earthquake in May 2008.

New challenges

Analysts have said that the China-US relationship was relatively stable throughout 2011 despite several setbacks, while this year will be very difficult as the two countries face sensitive domestic issues.

In July, President Obama ignored China's strong opposition and met the Dalai Lama at the White House. In September, the Chinese government expressed strong indignation over the $5.85 billion new arms package sold to Taiwan. In October, the US Senate passed a bill targeted at China's currency.

In addition, due to the sluggish US economic recovery, American politicians have continued to attack Chinese currency policy, which they say has led to the huge US trade deficit against China.

Tension could be further heightened this year by the US presidential election campaign, when both the Republican candidates and Obama will tend to act tough on China to win more votes.

Mitt Romney, the leading Republican presidential hopeful, has targeted China several times in public comments and says he will take immediate action if elected.

In his recent State of the Union address, Obama signaled a strong trade stance on China and announced that the administration will set up a trade investigation unit targeting America's second largest trading partner.

But thanks to the growing understanding and trust between Beijing and Washington, those issues have not seriously damaged the relationship.

Both US and Chinese experts agree that Beijing and Washington have reached some degree of consensus or understanding on the election year noise so that the bilateral relationship can continue to move in the right direction.

"It is particularly important for our leaders to keep our long-term interests in mind, not use inflammatory language and place particular emphasis on dialogue in the next 12 to 18 months," Lampton said.

New challenges are facing the two Asia-Pacific powers in 2012 as America has shifted its focus to the region.

The Pentagon's new military review said China's rise will affect the US economy and security in many ways and it worries about the strategic intention of China's military buildup in the area.

The militaries in both countries are "becoming increasingly entrenched" in their views about each other's motives and activities, and that acts as a "complicating factor" in the larger relationship, said Michael Swaine, a Chinese security expert with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Chen Xiangyang, deputy director of the Institute of World Political Studies at China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, said the US intends to restructure the economic order and obtain more market share in the Asia-Pacific region with the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which is still up in the air, play the role of judge in the South China Sea disputes and speed up military deployment in the region.

Shen Dingli, director of the Center for American Studies at Fudan University in Shanghai, noted other potential difficulties, such as the declining world economy, which will result in fewer labor-outsourcing opportunities for China, which will in turn reduce opportunities for the Chinese currency to appreciate. Shen also said there may be more trade friction between the two countries if China's economic growth rate slows and it imports fewer goods.

Recognizing differences in history and culture, Xi said recently that it was normal for the two countries to encounter disputes and friction.

"We hope that the US can view China's strategic intentions and development path in a sensible and objective way, and be committed to developing a cooperative partnership," Xi told a gathering of academics, officials and senior diplomats who had been involved in Nixon's 1972 visit.

"Ultimate caution should be given to major and sensitive issues that concern each country's core interests to avoid any distraction and setbacks in China-US relations," Xi said. "By no means can we let relations again suffer major disruption."

Xi also said that the two countries should follow the spirit of the three joint communiques signed by China and the US to ensure steady and smooth bilateral relations.