Beijing ( CNN ) -- So , America has decided . President Barack Obama has been returned for another term . Now it is China 's turn . In the space of one week the world 's two great powers decide their immediate futures . More : China 's secretive process . It 's not all they have in common . America and China are joined at the wallet . China makes mass cost-effective products , United States consumers buy them . The U.S. is China 's single biggest trade partner , China is the biggest holder of American debt . Yet so much attention is given to what divides the two powers . In the U.S presidential election both candidates tried to `` out-tough '' each other on China . There were the now mandatory claims of China stealing American jobs , not playing fair , manipulating its currency to gain an export advantage . Beijing has cautioned U.S. politicians to treat China with respect . It talks about win-win , the need for cooperation . More : 3 challenges for China 's next leaders . President Obama made it clear during the campaign that China can be either a partner or an adversary . He 's backing his words with firepower . The U.S. has pivoted to Asia away from wars in Iraq and Afghanistan . It is consolidating key alliances in Southeast Asia , carrying out military exercises with Japan and South Korea . American troops are now in place on Australian soil . Some analysts interpret this as an attempt to contain China 's rise . China is rattling other nations in Asia with its military build-up and tense territorial disputes . Violent protests have erupted across China as people denounce the likes of Japan and the Philippines . More : Opinion : West should prepare for confusing new Chinese leader . But away from the heat of politics and trade , ordinary people are building bridges . Chinese students are flocking to American colleges , U.S. businesses are capitalizing on China 's inexpensive labor , and young Americans can be found throughout Chinese cities . Jonathon Levine left his home in New York when he found himself unemployed . Armed with a masters degree he found a job teaching U.S. Studies at Beijing 's Tsinghua University . He says `` China bashing '' is n't the answer , the world , he says , needs to get over its fear . `` It 's not like going to the moon like it might have been 100 years ago because communication links us much closer together , '' Levine said . China is not the moon , but it is world 's away from the U.S. in so many ways . Where America prides itself on its democracy , the Chinese Communist Party keeps a tight grip on power . The U.S is the home of laissez-faire capitalism , China remains a command economy . Human rights continues to be a thorny issue , and where the U.S pursues intervention in foreign affairs , China prefers a hands-off approach . More : China 's Communist Party Congress explained . U.S Secretary of State , Hillary Clinton , says China 's relationship with the U.S. is the defining one of this century . President Obama has four more years ; Xi Jinping is expected to be anointed China 's leader for the next decade -- two men a world apart with a world depending on them .
In space of one week , world 's two great powers decide their immediate futures . The US and USSR are both nuclear superpowers with the potential to destroy each other in a matter of minutes if they ever got together ( or at least that was what everyone thought ). U.S. has pivoted to Asia away from wars in Iraq and Afghanistan . Away from heat of politics and trade , ordinary people are building bridges .