China and the United States "know that they depend on each other" despite the fact that differences remain, a Belgian expert said in a recent interview with Xinhua.

"The China-U.S. Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED) is key in managing the relations between the two giants and to maintain a climate of confidence between decision makers," Jonathan Holslag, researcher at the Brussels Institute of Contemporary China Studies, said ahead of the second round of the S&ED which is to be held in Beijing Monday.

Questions remain on how Washington will treat China in interactions, including "Will the United States and especially the American society accept a partnership among equals with a country that has a fundamentally different political system?"

Holslag said these questions "are not just political questions."

Those issues are "symptomatic for America's strategic identity crisis and the difficult process to adjust to a rapidly changing world order," he added.

"In the short term, I don't see where to anchor the relations," Stanley Crossick, founding chairman of the European Policy Center and now researcher at the Brussels Institute of Contemporary China Studies, said.

"The U.S. remains deeply concerned about the size of the trade deficit and the value of the RMB," he said, adding that "there is a serious danger of protectionism."

The second round of the China-U.S. strategic and economic dialogue is expected to bring together U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan and State Councilor Dai Bingguo.

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai told reporters Thursday China would work with the United States to achieve positive results from this round of dialogue.

On climate change, Crossick said the chance of a breakthrough in Cancun was extremely small. "None of the protagonists seems to believe that a binding agreement with fixed curbs is feasible."

Representatives from various countries will gather together in December in Cancun, Mexico, in an attempt to hammer out a post-2012 climate deal.

He said he believed there would be increased cooperation between China and the United States on climate change.