Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan wave upon their arrival in California, the United States, June 6, 2013. Xi arrived in California Thursday for a meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama. [Xinhua Photo]

Cui Tiankai, China's new ambassador to the U.S., recently observed that China and the U.S. are "two great powers situated on the two sides of the Pacific, and as such, have many intertwined interests which the countries must turn into opportunities for cooperation."

Now that a new leadership team has taken over in China and Obama has begun his second term, the potential to encourage opportunities for cooperation is here. It can begin by the U.S. treating a rising China with the care and respect that it deserves as a great power.

China and the U.S. enjoy an immensely profitable trade and FDI relationship. Since reform and opening-up, trade between China and the U.S. has risen from just $2 billion in 1979 to $536 billion today, making China the second-largest U.S. trading partner, its third-largest export market, and its biggest source of imports.

The U.S. is expected to replace the European Union as China's largest trade partner this year. The rapid pace of economic cooperation between China and the U.S., while mutually beneficial, have made trade relations an increasingly complex issue. On-going issues over market access, intellectual property, security reviews of investments, and restrictions on technology exports continue to complicate China-U.S.'s burgeoning trade relations.

What will they discuss?

There are a number of expected topics. The top issue for the U.S. is allegations of Chinese cyber hacking, particularly on business and intellectual property. The top issue for China is the extension of the welcome mat (or lack of one) for Chinese investment in the U.S.

Xi and Obama will likely discuss issues that are of mutual interest beyond cyber hacking and the welcome mat. Other issues will probably include security concerns in East Asia and the Pacific, the Syrian civil war, and Iran's nuclear program. Depending on how much time they have, they may discuss how China and the U.S. can show bilateral cooperation and global leadership on issues ranging from economic policy to energy security to global climate change.

So what should we expect from this meeting? Obama will most likely be looking for cooperation on trade and economic policy, cyber security, the DPRK, and Syria. As for Xi, he will be looking for U.S. recognition of China as a rising power and respect for its sovereignty, neutrality in the South China Sea dispute, and a willingness to recognize China's growing international responsibilities as a leading global power.

Many are already downplaying the potential for success. That would be a mistake. This summit, no matter how informal, demonstrates recognition on the part of both nations that China-U.S. relations are at the critical junction. Ultimately, what comes out of this meeting will set the tone for China-U.S. relations, and particularly presidential interactions, for the next ten years.

A new China-US relationship

The Xi-Obama summit provides an opportunity for both presidents to lay the foundations for a new, more mutually productive relationship, one that can weather what may be turbulent decades ahead. Both Xi and Obama have said that they would like to lay the groundwork for a new type of major power relations.

Antiquated, Cold War-era thinking regarding China-U.S. relations is both outmoded and counterproductive. This informal summit provides an opening for the presidents to discuss candidly what this new concept should mean in practice.

Frankly, Xi and Obama must seize this opportunity to improve China-U.S. relations. The two presidents should address areas in which greater cooperation can yield disproportionate benefits, as well as candidly determine where fault lines will remain in place. This exchange should adopt a long-term perspective and lead to sustained, high-level dialogue on the core threats that will shape the world of the future - and the potential roles of the U.S. and China separately and collaboratively in such a world.

As Premier Li Keqiang noted this week, stronger China-U.S. cooperation will drive economic growth in both countries, if both countries work more closely to combine China's huge market and the leading technology of the United States.

The Xi-Obama summit can set the tone for a new type of bilateral relationship between China and America that features reciprocal recognition of China and America's role as world powers, mutual trust, cooperation, and shared economic prosperity.

The author is Chair of the Department of Political Science at the University of St. Thomas in Houston and a Professor of Political Science.