China-US relations: Election rhetoric and ground reality

Thus, a healthy, stable and collaborative bilateral relationship can best be achieved through high-level talks and compromise on a number of touchy issues.

President Xi Jinping's recent state visit to the United States came just at this historical, critical juncture. His successful visit helped to curb the deterioration of the China-US relationship, and inject fresh impetus to the new model of major power relationship.

China and the US reached a wide-ranging consensus with 49 important outcomes on the list, which covers a wide spectrum of crucial issues including investment, people-to-people exchanges, climate change and coordination in multilateral affairs, among others.

The landmark visit, which has ushered in a broad prospect for China-US cooperation, further charted the course of the bilateral relationship and bolstered the two sides' confidence in future cooperation at all levels, regardless of the rhetoric on China during the election season.

At present, the China-US ties have evidently strengthened following President Xi's US visit. He will probably meet his US counterpart President Barack Obama twice in 2016, paying the way for possible closer ties between the world's two largest economies.

There are indeed some structural differences and contradictions between China and the US, but their common interests have further been expanding, and are becoming more evident. The world's two largest economies have seen an increasingly interwoven relationship as their economic ties have never been more interdependent, while many global and regional key issues hinge on their collaboration. Simply put, the two powers just cannot afford to head into a zero-sum game due to their increasing convergence of interests.

In such a framework of mutual cooperation, the bilateral relationship will inevitably remain comparatively stable in a larger context.

The United States needs to zoom out and focus on the big picture, discard a confrontational approach, and manage its differences with China in a constructive way. Only this way can we witness a future in which China and the US enjoy a healthy and cooperative relationship that contributes to the lasting peace, stability and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific and the world at large.

Li Zhenyu, a distinguished bilingual author and scholar, is a contributing columnist with the China Daily Website.

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