Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping (central) meets with several former senior U.S. officials in Washington, capital of the United States, Feb. 13, 2012. Among the former officials are former U.S. secretaries of state Henry Kissinger and Madeleine Albright, former U.S. treasury secretary Henry Paulson, former U.S. national security advisers Zbigniew Brzezinski, Brent Scowcroft and Sandy Berger, and former U.S. secretary of labor Elaine Chao. [Photo Source: Xinhua]



China's unfettered economic momentum since it was set on the path of reform and opening-up three decades ago has led many economists to believe that it may overtake the U.S. as the world's largest economy in the next decade. Its relations with the existing sole superpower, the U.S. is bound to turn more complicated as both sides deepen cooperation on the one hand and vie for preponderance on the other.

During his ongoing visit to the U.S., Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping made a four-point proposal on how to enhance the Sino-U.S. relationship. He said that the two sides should respect each other and build mutual trust to achieve mutual benefits and win-win results. China and U.S. might still have to work on the nuts and bolts in their relations, but the proposal can provide an overarching guideline for both sides to handle their relations going forward.

So what does a strong China mean to the U.S.? And how can a rising China get along with the U.S.?

Ni hao, you're listening to  People In the Know, bringing you insights into the headline news in China and around the world, I'm Zheng Chenguang in Beijing. In this edition of the program, we are discussing what a strong China means to the U.S.

We talk to Prof. Ding Sheng, Associate Professor of Political Science of the Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania and Prof. David Lampton, Director of the China Studies Program, School of Advanced International Studies at John Hopkins University.