Chinese and American pundits hope that the state visit to the United States by President Xi Jinping in September will be another major opportunity for the two nations to expand cooperation and manage key differences.

The world's two largest economies have not only become increasingly interdependent economically, but have witnessed closer ties in a wide spectrum of the relationship, such as the growing number of Chinese tourists and students in the US.

But strategic distrust remains, as manifested by differences in cyber security; China's maritime territorial disputes with some of its neighbors; the US rebalance-to-Asia strategy; the US attitude toward China's One Belt, One Road initiative; and the China-led Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).

Richard Bush, director of the Center for East Asia Policy Studies at the Brookings Institution, said that the two leaders should avoid polite talk but not critical issues, despite their mutual respect.

He suggested that the two presidents produce a work plan for the two countries to follow over the next 18 months - the remainder of the Obama administration - to focus on issues that require presidential leadership.

"A lot of the issues can be dealt with at S&ED (Strategic and Economic Dialogue) and through agency interactions, but some issues really require presidential direction and presidential monitoring to ensure that they are addressed to the best interests of countries involved," he told a seminar on China-US relations on Wednesday at the Brookings.

Su Ge, president of the China Institute of International Studies (CIIS), believes the upcoming state visit will be a milestone. While noting that cooperation and competition coexist in the bilateral relationship, Su said that only by strengthening cooperation could the two countries achieve a win-win situation.

"The best way to manage differences is to increase mutual trust," Su said. He suggested cooperation on maritime issues, such as exploring how to better ensure freedom of navigation, and work on cyber security.

Su, a diplomat for many years, said China and the US also could work together on regional issues. He noted that AIIB, One Belt and One Road and other initiatives are aimed at complementing and improving the current political and economic order and are not exclusive in nature.

On global governance, Su believes that the climate change deal between China and the US last November has set a good example for more such cooperation in the future.