Keep Sino-US 'soft conflicts' under control

About a month ago, I had a discussion with a friend in US studies on emerging Sino-US disputes in the climate change conference at Copenhagen. Don't believe these superficial phenomena, he said. This is a drama co-acted by China and the US. In other words, China and the US are pretending to be at odds to dismiss the international community's worries that the G2 is ruling the world.

The evidence that justify his opinions is the concept conveyed by US President Barack Obama that the Sino-US relation is one of the most important bilateral relations in the world. State Secretary Hillary Clinton once said that the two countries should "be in the same boat" to handle global issues, which also contributes to my friend's view.

If his drama theory were true, then it had been overthrown by the recent US policies regarding China. Obama has been consistently challenging Sino-US trade relations, which could trigger a trade war. This is a policy that seeks to contain the development of China. He also declared an arm sales deal to Taiwan, despite the fact that tension across the Straits has relaxed.