China and the US will never agree on everything, but they should agree to constructive dialogue to resolve conflict

Editor's note: Chinese President Xi Jinping is going to visit the United States in September at the invitation of US President Barack Obama. It will be Xi's first state visit to the US as Chinese president. Chinese Ambassador to the US Cui Tiankai accepted China Daily's interview and shared his thoughts on Sino-US ties and the new model of major-country relations. The interview was conducted by China Daily reporter Su Zhou in Chinese and translated into English.

Earlier this year, China and the US announced the news that Chinese President Xi Jinping had accepted US President Barack Obama's invitation to pay a state visit to the US in September. The news came seven months in advance, which never happened before. Normally the public would only get such news when visits were imminent.

I think this marks the great importance both China and the US attach to the coming visit. Over the past two years, the two countries' heads of state have established a good working mechanism, an unofficial, small-scale meeting that involves deep and candid exchange of views, such as the informal summit at the Annenberg Retreat in California in June 2013, and their evening stroll inside the government complex in the heart of Beijing in November 2014.

A range of topics were discussed, from bilateral to global and regional issues, to current affairs, history and culture. Through these exchanges the two heads of state led and guided Sino-US relationship from a strategic height and pushing them forward to a new stage. These kickoff discussions proved to be very effective. So I believe the coming visit will continue such high-level exchanges and will take them one step further.

We are still discussing the specific agenda with the US but it should cover a wide range of things. The world is changing fast. It is hard to predict what will happen in the world in the next six months before Xi's visit in September. And major global issues on politics, security, economy and finance will be reflected on the agenda.

We will make ample preparations for a successful meeting between the two heads of state.

We have many bilateral issues to discuss. For example, we hope to see some progress in the negotiation of the bilateral investment treaty soon. However, how much progress can be made and whether strong political push is needed from the very top depends on how it evolves in the future.

There are also many established dialogues, such as the Strategic and Economic Dialogue, people-to-people exchanges, high-level consultations, military exchanges, etc. These will fully prepare us for a successful meeting between the two heads of state.

I believe this visit will yield fruitful results, increase understanding, build trust, and reinforce the good interaction between the two heads of state. This is consistent with the interests of both countries.