In November 2012 the two largest economies in the world selected their heads of state, in one case extending the mandate of an incumbent leader in a national election and, in the other, transitioning power from one generation of leadership to the next in what has been considered to be a more top-down managed process. With President Obama confi rmed for another four years and President Xi Jinping set to run China for the next ten, these two leaders will need to determine whether and when to compete or collaborate on many of the world’s most important issues. Within the coming decade during which China by the estimates of many analysts is expected to overtake the United States in terms of GDP, the next four years in particular will be critical in shaping the relationships between the two countries and forming the trajectory of their respective future economic growth and development. During the past decade, China has gone from being a ‘strategic partner’ (under US President Clinton 1 ) to being a ‘strategic competitor’ (under US President Bush 2 ). The future nature of the strategic relationship will be shaped by how Presidents Obama and Xi choose to tackle the top bilateral issues of trade and economics, foreign policy, and natural resources, as well as their respective top domestic issues. It is clear that without a strong domestic base China cannot succeed in its sustainable and stable rise and America cannot regain the political and economic high ground it has occupied for the better part of a century.