The summit is the fourth and final of a series of summits that aim to develop an accountable global architecture to prevent nuclear terrorism. The first summit was held in Washington in 2010 at the initiative of Obama.
Top Chinese leaders took part in all the previous three nuclear security summits, which analysts say threw great political weight behind the global undertaking and bilateral cooperation on nuclear security.
"I think it is very positive that President Xi has participated in the summits and has made some quite forthright statements on the importance of nuclear security, on the reality of threat of nuclear terrorism," said Matthew Bunn, a former White House adviser and expert at Harvard Kennedy School.
"There has been a fair amount of common ground (between the two countries) on nuclear security. And I think the cooperation between the United States and China has been very positive," Bunn said.
At the 2014 summit held in The Hague, the Netherlands, Xi said nuclear security is a global endeavor and that more countries should be brought into the international nuclear security process.
Obama also considers nuclear terrorism as one of the greatest threats to international security and has called for action to strengthen the global nuclear security regime.
During Xi's state visit to the United States last September, the two presidents agreed to deepen their cooperation on nuclear security.
BILATERAL NUCLEAR ENGAGEMENT
High-level consensus on nuclear security is not just symbolic, but has produced tangible results.
Over the past decade, the two countries have been staying on the same page in efforts to ensure a world is free of the peril of nuclear terrorism as well as in other non-traditional security areas, such as climate change.
"China-U.S. nuclear security cooperation has been greatly strengthened over the past 10 years," said Hui Zhang, who heads the Harvard Kennedy School's research initiative on China's nuclear policies.
The bilateral nuclear engagement, Zhang said, includes in-depth training and workshops to discuss topics ranging from approaches to the design of physical protection systems and steps to strengthen security culture, to cooperation in building the Center of Excellence on Nuclear Security.
Bunn echoed Zhang's words. "I think there are more to be done, but there is a lot that has been done," he said, adding that bilateral cooperation can go even further.
"There are more to be done together to train and motivate other countries in East Asia on nuclear security," he said.
Zhang suggested that the two countries increase bilateral cooperation on nuclear security in the civilian sector and expand it to the military sector.
However, consensus and willingness alone can not ensure their future cooperation will be friction-free, nuclear experts say.
"The devil is in the details," Shen said, referring to the sensitivity of each country's nuclear information.
Zhang suggested that the two governments restart their lab-to-lab technical exchange program conducted from 1995 to 1998.
"As first steps, the program should begin with less sensitive activities that are identified as mutually beneficial," he said.
