Source: BBC's World Have Your Say

From Taiwan arms sales to the Google dispute, recent tensions between the United States and China have cast a shadow over the bilateral relationship. It has also put the spotlight on China’s increasingly assertive diplomacy. Some fear that the two nations are facing increasing tensions that may have global ramifications.
 
As Douglas Paal argues on the BBC’s World Have Your Say, perceptions of growing Chinese confidence and U.S. decline will not lead to a new cold war. While China has adopted tough rhetoric against the United States, this has not been accompanied by a real shift in its policies. Instead, this rhetoric reflects an increasingly vocal and influential group of domestic hardliners who have overestimated China’s global clout. As such views have gained considerable traction, pragmatic Chinese officials have stiffened their language toward the United States but remain careful not to take actions that would seriously jeopardize the bilateral relationship. Paal also points out that the high degree of economic interdependence between the United States and China will keep them from pulling the trigger on each other and unleashing a major conflict.