More exchanges needed for mutually assured dependent relations between China and the US in the 21st Century

China and the United States were once again embroiled in a war of words recently, this time as a result of the military drills near China's coastal waters. Media in both countries decoded the recent war games from various angles: tit-for-tat actions, one country's anxiety over the other, or the extending of strategic feelers.

However, a review of China-US military relations in recent years reveals two basic facts: