With President Xi Jinping of China to visit Washington DC in September, tension between China and the United States over the disputed South China Sea will gradually simmer down, according to Xue Li, the director of the Department of International Strategy under the Institute of World Economics and Politics of the Chinese Academy of Social Science, in a recent article cited by our sister paper Want Daily on June 8.

Xue said tensions in South China Sea will ease due to self-restraint on Beijing’s behalf, as the Chinese government is keen to push ahead with its “Belt and Road” initiative. China will not be able to gain support from members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to develop its 21st Century Maritime Silk Road plan if the territorial disputes over the South China Sea continue to escalate.

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