The core question is whether that relative stability, which is temporary, can be converted into a durable foundation for a more normal long-term relationship, he said.

"I don't think anything the US can do is going to halt Chinese progress. I don't think it is in our interest to do that, but to the extent we try, we will fail," he added.

Despite the improved diplomatic atmosphere, analysts said US approach on core matters remains confrontational.

In December, for example, the Trump administration released its National Security Strategy, which cast China as the main driver of the US economic security policy. It also unveiled what could possibly be the largest-ever US arms sales package for Taiwan.

The strategy's language on China appears less hostile "rhetorically", but the underlying approach remains unchanged, said Wang Jisi, founding president of Peking University's Institute of International and Strategic Studies.

"In essence, I think the US policy toward China is still one of containment," he said at a forum hosted on Dec 12 by the University of Hong Kong's Center on Contemporary China and the World.