The fifth China-US Strategic and Economic Dialogue, attended by hundreds of high-level officials, has drawn global attention to the relationship between China and the US, the two most important powers in the world.

The development of the China-US relationship has thus far avoided worst-case scenarios that no one wants to see. There has been neither strategic collision nor a new Cold War.

China and the US have created a miracle. For the first time in modern history, the existing power and the rising power are not enemies. Beijing and Washington have both openly stated that they are engaged in cooperation as well as competition, which is almost true in reality.

However, the bilateral relationship is just in a beginning phase.

With piles of challenging issues between the two nations, the future of the relationship is uncertain. China and the US may move away from the current strategic suspicion and caution toward mutual trust. It would be an unprecedented breakthrough in world politics, but it's also likely that the two will end up in a showdown due to mutual distrust.

China is the weaker side in the Sino-US relationship, which will continue to be the case for the next decade or two. Therefore China has the stronger desire for establishing the mutual strategic trust. Washington's willingness to maintain stable relations with Beijing is conditional.

Every high-level strategic dialogue, the US has varied demands on China, including some unwarranted ones. Take this time. The US still accuses China of stealing business information through cyber hacking and demands China to reform the exchange rate, although the US itself is still in the wake of the Snowden affair.

Washington still has the ability to dictate the agenda of the dialogue. The dialogue provides us with a communication opportunity, but it could also help us resurvey and organize China's US strategy.

First of all, we need to be modest in front of the US power. This is a choice based on realistic philosophical and political approaches as well as China's historical experiences.

But meanwhile, we should have confidence in ourselves. The current relatively moderate US attitude on China's rise is out of respect of China's strength.

The ultimate goal of Washington is to increase the costs of China's rise, prolonging the time when the US is the sole super power. However, it won't strive for this goal at any cost. That's why both cooperation and competition can exist between China and the US. 

Though China cannot compete with the US on overall strength, we aim at safeguarding our expanding interests rather than a worldwide contention with the US.

China has abundant strength to realize the former. Therefore, we should have more confidence: China can achieve stable China-US relationship while protecting its own interests.