Mapping out a model major country relationship

In a recent meeting, President Xi Jinping and Secretary of State John Kerry discussed some of the contours of a "new model of major-country relationship" based on the common interests of their two countries. According to a report, Xi will meet Obama in September during his official visit and they will discuss how to keep the ties stable.

The relationship model is often based on trust and win-win equations. When these basic elements are missing, the ties are strained. The rise of Germany as a naval power at the start of the 19th century posed a threat to the established power Britain. The naval rivalry and competition over overseas colonies triggered one of the biggest conflicts of history. Though Germany and Britain were trade partners, due to suspicions about each other's intentions, they became a prey to the deadly Thucydides trap.

In the case of the United States and China, we see that economic cooperation and commercial ties are growing. But the element of trust is missing and the two sides still consider each other a rival. It creates a fear factor, one of the major precursors of conflicts.

The model relationship needs structure to avoid or manage rivalries. When a relationship cannot be free of competition, at least it can be changed into a predictable race. Some of the conflicts are caused by the ambiguous nature of rivalries, which creates a sense of insecurity.

The silver lining is that despite the hiccups, so far both China and the United States have been keen for cooperative ties. The United States understands that China, due to its economic might, is a stakeholder in world peace. It is on its way to arrogate some of the global prestige reserved for the former USSR, in the absence of Russia having a predictable pattern of ties with the West. America has been careful to take China along on global issues like nuclear talks with Iran.

President Xi struck a key note in his meeting with John Kerry when he said that the "broad Pacific Ocean is vast enough to embrace both China and the United States." In fact the world is big enough to accommodate not only these two powers but other emerging powers. This consideration should help the two sides to build trust.