New model

I was honored to be with then vice-president of China Xi Jinping on a visit to the US in 2012. During that visit, Xi met many friends he has known since 1985. The scene was touching. What he said was touching.

President Xi's engagements speak to the importance we attach to Sino-US relations. We have complete sincerity and have done a lot to ensure the smooth sail of Sino-US relations.

The hotly-discussed issue for the past two years has been to build a new model of major-country relations between China and the US.

Different from the zero-sum game among major countries in the past, this is a new model of major-country relations featuring no-conflict, no-confrontation, mutual respect, and win-win cooperation.

The two countries' understanding of this new concept deepened over the past two years. Of course, it is a process and will take time. We should build on cooperation and mutual benefit and try to come closer in views. So I think this will also be one of the subjects of the coming state visit in September.

President Xi once said, "This endeavor is unprecedented and will inspire future generations." This is what we are doing: a meaningful effort.

China and the US are big countries with a different history, culture and tradition, social system and understanding about interests. It is natural and understandable that we have differences, but it is a challenge for both of us to turn disagreement into cooperation opportunities. What we are trying to do here is to look at differences as space for further cooperation. And one key basis is to have enough mutual trust.

I think trust has been building over the past few years, but it has not yet been enough. We need to work on that in the future.

The first step to build mutual trust between countries is to have mutual understanding. For example, for us, we have to know how the US managed to develop into the only superpower in the world within 200 years; what are the major challenges it is facing; how the mainstream society define and tackle those challenges; what does the US expect from the international community, etc. Those are the understandings we need to have.

And it's the same for the US. I am afraid that the US should make extra efforts to know China better. Why China is what she is today? What have we done and are yet to do? What is the path that we are taking? These did not fall from the sky or were imposed by others. Thousands of years of history just came to its natural conclusion. Does the US know China well enough? I think they have to spend just a little bit more time.

The bright side of Sino-US relations is that we put everything on the table, no matter if it's good or bad, and try to coordinate. Mutual understanding increased through these, making some issues easier to tackle. Some others would need long-term coordination or even proofs of real actions for the two sides to get a full picture of the other's policies and intentions.