China US Photo:VCG

Coming to a new crossroads in China-US relations, Beijing called for a return to the right track of stable and healthy bilateral relations with mutual respect and cooperation, which is crucial to the world's peaceful development and prosperity.

In a video conference on Friday with US representatives attending the 12th China-US CEO and former senior officials' dialogue, Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan underscored the importance of China-US relations on world prosperity and stability, and stressed mutual respect and cooperation to promote the healthy and stable development of bilateral relations.

Wang said the development of bilateral trade and economy have shown complementary advantages, mutual benefits and win-win results since China and the US established diplomatic ties more than 40 years ago, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

Facts have shown that cooperation and common interests outweigh conflicts and differences between China and the US. In the long run, the two countries still face competition in many areas, and there are differences and common interests between the two sides, Wang said.

US representatives said the two countries should meet halfway and look for the largest possible common ground on cooperation to guarantee a healthy and stable development in bilateral relations. They said the US business community will continue to actively promote dialogue and communication between the new US government and China.

Friday marked the 42nd anniversary of the nine-day visit to the US in 1979 paid by Deng Xiaoping, the initiator of China's reform and opening-up policy. The visit came less than a month after China-US relations normalized on January 1 that year, and was the first time that a national Chinese leader visited America since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949.

The history that followed told the world that the two sides made this major decision to establish diplomatic relations is completely correct, China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian told a press conference on Friday, noting that the bilateral relations have achieved historic development through joint efforts of generations on both sides. 

The total economic output of China and the US, the world's two largest economies, has exceeded one-third of the world's and contributed over half of the world's economic growth.

Compared to the initial phase of relations, China-US trade has increased by more than 250 times, reaching one-fifth of the world scale. Two-way investment has risen from almost zero to nearly $240 billion. The annual personnel exchanges have hit 5 million times.

Latest data shows that the economic output of China has come a step closer to the size of the US' GDP, still the world's No.1 economy, breaking through the 70 percent mark in 2020 when the world economy took a heavy blow from the coronavirus. And the proportion is forecast to further rise this year with China's economic growth maintaining high momentum.

Growing from 10 trillion yuan 20 years ago, China's economy is now likely to account for around 17 percent of the global economy.

"Facts have proven that cooperation between China and the US will benefit both sides and the world," Zhao said.

However, relations have fallen into an unprecedented predicament over the past years because the Trump administration adopted a completely wrong policy toward China, which ignored the achievements of cooperation between China and the US in the past decades and efforts that former leaders and older generations on both sides have made. It is neither sustainable nor favored by people in both countries, Zhao said.

"It's never too late to do the right thing," Zhao said, noting that at this moment, relations between China and the US have come to a new crossroads, and a new window of hope is opening.