My friend,my enemy

Xi,elected president in March,will be in charge of China for the next decade,and Obama is at the beginning of his second presidential term. Both are at the peak of their power and in a position to lay down enduring markers for the future of the bilateral relationship,especially in the Asia Pacific region,where their interests directly intersect. Obama declared that America welcomes Chinas peaceful rise. Xi pointed to the profound interdependence between the American and Chinese national dreams. After nine hours of talks,they remained far apart on cyber security issues,which have cast a shadow over bilateral ties. But they agreed to work together on climate change and the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.

Few in the world want to see a hot war between the US and China. Even fewer want a superpower condominium or the G-2. For the moment,though,the prospect of rivalry between the worlds dominant power and the rising challenger seems a greater threat than a grand bargain for the joint management of the world. The nice sentiments exchanged by Obama and Xi did not mask the deep tensions between the two nations. Washington suspects China wants to overthrow the US-led global order and thinks there is enough evidence to suggest that Beijings rise may not be peaceful. Beijing,on the other hand,worries that America is trying to contain China through countervailing military alliances in Asia. As Obama and Xi seek to reduce mutual fear and build greater trust,the rest of the world,including India,must brace itself for a complex dynamic of conflict and cooperation between the two powers.