Since then, Shanghai has been the venue for other crucial events, such as the first one-on-one meeting between President Jiang Zemin and his US counterpart George W. Bush in 2001, as well as the latest round of bilateral high-level economic and trade consultations in July.

Alongside consensus that has been reached, Beijing and Washington have experienced differences to a varying degree in recent decades.

US Ambassador to China Terry Branstad told local media during a visit to the Iowa State Fair in the US in mid-August, "We're back at the bargaining table, but we've got some big differences."

Da Wei, assistant president of the University of International Relations in Beijing and an expert on US studies, said a strategic perspective is needed in tackling China-US ties, and "both sides should be confident in themselves and should not attribute their failures to each other".

To prevent the two countries edging toward another "cold war", Da said they should keep their competition healthy, under control and expand two-way cooperation.

They should also exercise effective crisis management to guard against "unintended accidents or disturbance from a third party", Da added.

Cui Tiankai, China's ambassador to the US, said at a reception in Washington on Aug 1, "The ever-deepening China-US cooperation that spans the Pacific Ocean has not only advanced our own development, but also benefited the whole world.

With this year marking the 40th anniversary of Sino-US diplomatic ties, Cui said, "One thing that we have learned from the past four decades is that both countries benefit from cooperation and lose in confrontation."