Events in China have garnered significant media attention in recent months. From wildly fluctuating markets, which have directly affected American businesses and families, to unprecedented cyberattacks on government networks, which compromised the personal data of millions of Americans — China is in the news.

These issues, along with China’s continued aggression in the South China Sea, will most assuredly be on the agenda during the State Visit of Chinese President and Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping this week. Whether the Obama administration will be able to secure meaningful progress on any of these fronts remains to be seen, although if previous rounds of cordial dialogue are any indication, the prospects are bleak.