The upcoming Annenberg summit between Presidents Barack Obama of the US and Xi Jinping of China could define the strategic relationship between the two most powerful countries in the world for years to come. Mr Xi has called for a “new type of great power relationship”. Tom Donilon, the US national security adviser, has suggested a “new model of relations between an existing power and an emerging one”.
The situation is historically unusual. Although the US is the established power, its policies do not maintain the status quo but instead promote change that advances American ideals and interests. Although China is the rising power, its policies are guided by traditional views of order and non-intervention.
The two presidents need to recognise that the new type of relationship they want cannot just rely on economic interdependence to overcome 21st-century problems and threats. They need to consider how economics and security interconnect in today’s foreign policy.