After months of mounting tension, the leaders of the U.S. and China appear to be putting recent strains in their relationship behind them. China's Foreign Ministry announced on Thursday, April 1, that President Hu Jintao would attend the global nuclear-security summit in Washington on April 12 and 13. Hours later, Hu and President Obama spoke for an hour by phone. Considerable differences on a wide range of issues are unlikely to be easily resolved, but Washington and Beijing may be moving to manage those differences in a more cooperative fashion.

Hu's attendance at the nuclear summit had been in doubt following Obama's January decision to approve the sale of $6.4 billion in arms to Taiwan, which China considers part of its territory. A month later, Obama met with the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader accused by Chinese leaders of seeking Tibetan independence. In the span of a few weeks, the U.S. had prodded China on two of its most sensitive issues, prompting an angry backlash, including a suspension of some high-level military exchanges. Beijing also refused to even discuss U.S. proposals for new sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program.  More, from Time, here.