China's relations with the US have been significantly affected by its military rise and its increasing aggressiveness towards its Asian neighbors over territorial disputes.

The US is an ally to China's territorial rivals Vietnam, Japan, and the Philippines, and is obliged to defend the three in case they are attacked. The existing issues in Asia has produced bad blood between the US and China, and this could shoot down cooperation on the more pressing global issues including climate change and nuclear programs, The Washington Post explained.

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Secretary of State John F. Kerry and Treasury Secretary Jack Lew are set to fly to Beijing on Wednesday and Thursday to attend the sixth annual Strategic and Economic Dialogue. According to some, the US-China relations are experiencing its worst shakeup since 1972, when President Richard M. Nixon visited Mao Zedong.

China has seen the Obama administration's Asian pivot as an attempt to hinder its rise. Furthermore, Beijing has interpreted Washington's attempt to strengthen ties with Vietnam, Japan, and the Philippines as a push for the latter three to cling to their territorial claims.

In an interview, Admiral Sun Jianguo of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) said the US is "taking sides" in the Asian territorial spats. Washington, on the other hand, thinks Beijing is using the threat of a military action to push its territorial claims and drive the US out of Asia.

The US and China have undergone more intense shakeups in their relations, such as the fallout caused by the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre. This one, however, is considered as the most difficult test of their ties.

China maintains its historical claims to a large portion of the South China Sea, but experts have been puzzled about its increasing aggressiveness of late. It seemed to contradict its efforts in 2013 to foster a more cooperative environment with its neighboring countries.

Some explain that President Xi Jinping may use external threats to bring in drastic military reforms, while others say China is just trying to establish its power in Asia to displace the American influence in the region. Majority agrees that China's aggressiveness in the territorial spat stem from its new deep-water navy and coast guard.

Regardless of the real reason, China's military rise has affected its relations with the US, as the latter struggles to balance between fulfilling its commitments to its Asian allies and build its relationship with China. Recently, the US has sent B-25 bombers across the air defense zone of China and threatened to revise its military standing in Asia if China decides to extend the defense zone to disputed waters.

Just this April, US President Barack Obama visited South Korea, Japan, and the Philippines and to sign defense treaties.

According to some critics, the US should have pushed to strengthen its economic ties with Asia by forging a Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement with China. Christopher Johnson from the Center for Strategic and International Studies said the economic links keep the nations' relations from turning into a "Cold War relationship."

Some Chinese officials think the US lacks resolve, and this idea has given China the confidence to assert itself even more. They say Obama's administration is unwilling to sanction Syria for its use of chemical weapons, Johnson explained.

However, Johnson added that Beijing should not underestimate the US commitment to come to Asia's aid. He likened America to a "sleeping giant" that will wake up when pushed too hard.

Foreign policy experts agree that more focus should be given on the US-China relations. As of now, Kerry's attention is riveted on the Middle East and national security adviser Susan Rice has not yet visited Beijing.

Obama, on the other hand, has refused to visit China to follow up on the 2013 Sunnylands summit in California with his Chinese counterpart. He is, however, due for a Beijing trip in November for an Asia-Pacific summit.

In addition to the Strategic and Economic Dialogue this week, experts say the November visit will give the US a chance to unite leaders in addressing one of the most difficult issues in foreign policy.