Protectionism slammed

"Some people, though, stress the importance of a free market when they get the upper hand but resort to protectionism when they are outperformed. Is this fair?"

Fourth, he called for jointly shouldering responsibilities as major countries.

"We are willing to coordinate with the United States and jointly explore third-party market cooperation. Will the US side also welcome China to be part of its multilateral initiatives?" Xie asked.

Fifth, he said there is a need to jointly promote people-to-people exchanges.

"Now that our leaders have agreed to increase people-to-people exchanges, why should all the barriers in travel, visa and border policies still be there? During the era of mutual estrangement and antagonism from 1949 to 1971, trade between China and the United States was almost zero, and our citizens had to get stapled visas to visit each other's country," he said. "In a globalized world today, why should we backpedal and return to the past?"

The ambassador said the bilateral relationship "cannot go back to the old days, but we can jointly usher in a brighter future for it. The hope lies in the youth, who are known for vitality, creativity and the will to act."

Xie encouraged US citizens to "travel the expanse of China with their own feet, and see a true, dynamic and panoramic China; to put their heads together, and contribute wisdom to how our two countries can get along well on this planet; and to spring into action, promote exchanges and cooperation between China and the United States, so as to create a future of lasting peace and prosperity for all".