As matter of fact, the Chinese government long ago began on an incremental path of exchange rate reform. But in recent times, an unfortunate trend of political point scoring has developed in the U.S. As U.S. mid-term elections drew near, in September 2010, lawmakers passed a bill pressing China through trade policy to make its currency rise faster and blaming China for delaying the recuperation of the global economy. In October 2011, the Senate passed another bill targeting the Renminbi. These legislative snipes do nothing to enhance understanding between the two countries and have made the exchange rate a key issue of contention in the relationship.

From China's point of view, it seems that despite the lavish profits reaped by U.S. businesses from China's huge market and cheap labor, America's political leaders are looking to dampen China's ability to compete globally and award undeserved advantages to their own industries in bilateral trade. Businessmen seem unperturbed by all this bickering – foreign direct investment between the two countries continues to rise, shared supervision of international corporations is being expanded and new energy deals are constantly made.

In recent years, the U.S. had made it clear that it intends to be strategically "involved" in Asia over the long term. In a break with Former President George W. Bush's focus on the Middle East, the Obama administration has elevated involvement in Asia to one of its top diplomatic priorities.

As China's influence continues to grow, the United States fears loosing sway in the East and Southeast Asian regions to China. For the U.S. to "lose Asia" would be a geopolitical fissure.

In 2010 America reasserted itself militarily in East Asia. It wanted its voice heard and intervened in regional incidents such as the sinking of the South Korean corvette Cheonan near the disputed border of South and North Korea, the collision of a Chinese fishing boat with Japanese patrol ships off the Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea and the shelling of Yin Ping Island off the Korean Peninsula. In the course of these events, the U.S. reinforced its military alliances with Japan and South Korea.

In 2011, the United States attended the East Asia Summit as a fully-fledged member for the first time and stepped into the South China Sea territorial dispute between China and neighboring countries in a high profile manner. In 2011 the United States also expanded the scope of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP), in a bid to increase its geopolitical influence in the Asia-Pacific Region. Most analysts agreed this was to counter China's growing regional clout.

Relations across the Taiwan Straight have been warming in recent years. Since 2008, a new outlook has come to dominate the Taiwanese political scene and cross-strait relations have never been better. The Kuomintang (KMT) authorities have stepped up efforts to seek active communication with the mainland and be open and cooperative.

With the formal implementation of the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA), cross-strait relations will inevitably become much closer. Even the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), a long-time advocate for an independent Taiwan, is planning future policies that deal constructively with relations with the mainland. The fruitful results brought about by cross-straight exchanges and cooperation in such fields as economy, trade, science, technology and culture have instilled more confidence in those on both sides of the straight who argue for more stable and secure political relations.

While cross-strait politics have improved markedly, the United States has been shoring up its relationship with Taiwan. Even after the fallout from U.S. arms sales to Taiwan in 2010, the Obama administration pushed ahead with a new round of weapons sales in September 2011. In Taiwan, 2012 election candidates from the KMT and DPP sent delegations to the United States hoping to win over American support for their respective causes. Continued U.S. involvement in Taiwan reflects the Obama administration's intention to contain the Chinese mainland by allying with Taiwan. Taiwan's complicity in this game is an example of the political ploy the island has employed for many years now – using its U.S. ally as a bargaining chip in cross-straight negotiations.

2012: The Year of Elections

In 2012 many major countries will hold elections for state leaders including the United States, France, Russia and Mexico. Taiwan's authorities already held leadership elections in mid-January. China's 18th CPC National Congress will also be convened at which a leadership reshuffle is expected. The United States' presidential election will undoubtedly attract a lot of attention throughout the world. Issues concerning the U.S.'s relationship with China have been hot topics in past U.S. presidential elections, especially in the 1990s when China's trade status as a most favored nation was keenly debated.

After the September 11 terrorist attacks, China-related issues were pushed to the side in presidential campaigns by such topics as terrorism and war in the Middle East. After the 2008 global financial crisis, economy recuperation and employment have become priorities for the U.S. government and thus the "China issue" has returned to the fore. In the 2010 mid-term elections, according to reports by the New York Times, 29 major candidates from both the Democratic and Republican parties, including some leading figures on Capitol Hill, released campaign sound bites blaming China for the American economic depression. Based on current trends, China will no doubt become a much-hyped issue in the 2012 U.S. presidential election.

China is often the target of cheap political point scoring in elections. On this occasion, Republicans will probably accuse Obama of poor leadership for his supposed weakness in dealing with China and his failure to improve the American economy. In response, Obama and the Democrats can point to the lack of solid policy and over-abundance of rhetoric in the Republican camp.

With the U.S. economy still wallowing in its debt morass and with sluggish growth continuing and high unemployment remaining, candidates from both parties may attack China over such issues as exports, debt and exchange rate in order to "pass the buck." Let's hope common sense prevails and China-U.S. relations survive the peak of this election cycle unscathed.

If Obama remains in the White House, he will most likely spend his days working out how to recuperate the American economy and maintain U.S. influence in global politics at current levels. Economic recuperation will require the U.S. to seek out further cooperation with China. The U.S. will accordingly become more proactive in bilateral economic and trade issues. However, on issues such as the exchange rate and the TPP, the U.S. will probably continue its tough attitude. As America seeks to reaffirm American military leadership in the Asia-Pacific Region, fiercer competition between China and the U.S. may arise.

If a Republican takes the highest office in the U.S., the situation will become more complicated. By examining history, one notices that Republican presidents have played more active and positive roles in China-U.S. relations than Democratic ones. Republicans have tended to give more sway to economic and trade issues.

However, since the emergence of the Tea Party, mainstream Republic thinking has turned to focus on the issue of debt reduction, and again the Renminbi has been made a scapegoat. Meanwhile, in recent years Republicans have been taking their traditional tough stance on human rights and the Taiwan issue; it can't be ruled out that they will challenge China on a series of issues if a Republican wins the White House.

On With the Show

International relations are constantly in flux, but nowadays China is a key player on the international scene that no country can afford to neglect. With regards to China-U.S. relations, Beijing should actively seek cooperation with the United States and emphasize common interests. There are many.

In the realm of broader international affairs, China should seek further integration with the multilateral mechanisms of the international governing institutions and promote its image as a responsible power, thereby creating a more favorable environment for its relationship with the U.S.

While the historical trajectory of cooperation followed by dispute may be hard to break given the differences between the two countries on certain issues, administrators on both sides of the Pacific should realize this and encourage politicians to bring pragmatic attitudes to the bilateral relationship. This is of paramount importance if the Chinese and American people are to continue to share the benefits of their countries' unique relationship.

Diao Daming is an assistant director of Tsinghua Center for U.S.-China Relations.