Not that much different than a division between Democrats and Republicans domestically, officials in China and the U.S. disagree on fundamental economic questions. Like Democrats, China appears to have a stronger hand. (Creative Commons)

China is still lagging behind in many areas, including its military force, but there's enough worry in the U.S. about China's continuing rise that some U.S. senators want to punish the nation for failing to increase the value of its currency. A weakly-valued yuan has led to huge trade deficits for the U.S.

The Chinese government is also investing billions of dollars across the American private sector--signing four deals in Houston already this week with many more expected. Before long, China could even announce a partnership with California to get the state's high-speed rail system headed in the right direction.

China's control stems from holding more U.S. debt than any foreign entity. Its influence comes from the international front, where China has loaned more money to third-world countries than the World Bank during the past two years, the Financial Times reported.

A Chinese military expert told a Chinese news service, "At present, the main obstacle is lack of mutual trust between the two nations. The responsibility does not lie with China. It lies with the United States, which has not yet given up its outdated Cold War mentality and behavior. This has harmed healthy development of China-U.S. relations. We must make great efforts on both sides to get back on track."

On the economic side, that $270 billion trade deficit the U.S. has with China is blamed by one on the other.

"Washington complains that Beijing keeps its yuan currency too cheap, giving it an unfair advantage in trade, and Obama has warned China against relying too heavily on exports for growth," Reuters reported. "Chinese officials say U.S. easy-money policy is aimed at weakening the dollar to boost exports and have said yuan appreciation would do little to alleviate the trade gap."

This could be Jintao's final visit to America.

"President Hu’s planned departure from Party leadership in 2012 has already resulted in the inevitable shift of focus away from continued meaningful political progress in US-China relations under his watch. Such focus has turned toward anticipation of what changes the Xi Jinping era will bring," a Boston University professor wrote. The seemingly muted goals of this trip from the Chinese perspective reflect such reticence to further major outstanding issues and instead privilege management of the status quo during Hu’s final year.

A trusting Obama could lead to future agreements with Jintao on meeting with North Korea, clamping down on the burning of coal and finding a way to use Chinese trade surpluses to create American jobs. A weak and wary Obama this week could lead to extra skepticism about China's infusion of cash into America and worry that the nation wants to weaken its neighbors.

"This unpalatable reality reflects a bigger truth: the US must stop trying to tell China what to do. The time for that has passed. China is too big to be bullied, too canny to be conned, too complicated to be changed from without," a Guardian columnist wrote Tuesday. "And it cannot sensibly be blamed for America's declining global clout. Some self-awareness, a focus on practical, mutually beneficial measures, and a little circumspection would ultimately work better to stop a war of words turning into something worse."

Reach executive producer Paresh Dave here. Follow him on Twitter: @peard33.