There are both external and internal reasons for the US' strategic focus shifting to the Asia-Pacific region. We should not immediately say that it is aimed at China. There are wider geopolitical factors, as the US still wants to dominate the region.

Economic causes are another reason for US strategy, and are indirectly linked to China. The economy of the Asia-Pacific region is developing rapidly. It's understandable that the US wants to have its share here.

US President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton took a high tone in announcing their return to Asia, but actually they never left. It can be taken as a demonstration of Obama's achievement.

The biggest obstacle to Sino-US relations is the strategic mistrust between the two. It has been 40 years since former US President Richard Nixon made his famous visit to China. During the 40 years, the two countries sometimes shared common interests. From 1972 to 1989, China and the US faced a common threat from the former Soviet Union. Then-leader Deng Xiaoping's southern tour in 1992 set the tone for China's market economy from 1992 to 2009.

However, after 2009, as the global financial crisis shook the US economy, and the talk of a "China Model" made the US lose confidence, strategic mistrust gradually returned to Sino-US relations.

As the US presidential election will coincide with China's 18th CPC National Congress this year, there won't be a major change of China's policy toward the US as China's senior leaders hold common views on this issue. It's all up to the US as how the relationship between the two will develop.

This article was compiled by Global Times reporter Wang Wenwen, based on an interview with Jin Canrong, deputy dean of the School of International Studies at Renmin University of China. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn