So I won't be surprised if there is criticism from the US toward China. A normal state of Sino-US relationship is that the two countries always have cooperation as well as contradiction. But the "new normal", or what we call the new type of relationship between big countries on other occasions, should feature cooperation that is always bigger than contradiction.

Of course, I don't like groundless criticism of China emerging from time to time. But if there are questions or concerns, let's use the many channels we have to communicate, to clarify the basic facts and to understand each other better.

Building a new model of major-country relations is the common goal and vision between China and the US. And it needs long-time joint efforts. Looking at the bigger historical picture, I think the past decades have shown that we are completely able to achieve this goal. Since the visits of Henry Kissinger and Richard Nixon, and the establishment of diplomatic ties in the 1970s, the bilateral relations has been moving forward with fast-developing China; however, China's fast development hasn't overtaken or impaired the US. The US keeps growing and remains the only superpower in the world with world leadership in economy, technology, finance, military and culture. The history shows that China doesn't develop at the cost of the US. There is every possibility that China and the US can work together and achieve mutual benefits.

But we have to see that people's minds are not entirely the same on the matter of building a new model of major-country relations. Some American officials doubt our real intentions. They are concerned about whether this new concept means that China is going to divide the world half-half with the US. This thought has never crossed our mind. Now we have 193 member states within the United Nations. How could it even be possible for China and the US alone to decide on international affairs? The US still has doubts, but I think those doubts will dissipate once the new concept starts to yield real outcomes.

There are few things in the world that can be solved once and for all. When you have solved old issues, there will be new issues. Some issues are even brought in exactly because bilateral relations continue to strengthen. For example, when Nixon visited China, there was no big trade friction. But now our trade volume reaches $550 billion a year and trade disputes and frictions become a natural byproduct. There is no doubt that we will have new issues between China and the US in the future. If both sides are willing to approach those issues in a constructive manner, we can always find the way to manage the differences.

No smear

The general election of the US is their internal affairs. We will observe but we won't get involved. As I understand it, the key point of winning the election depends on its own citizens. The citizens of the US will vote for the one who they think can solve their own problems. China doesn't really fit in this discussion. If someone chooses to smear China during the election, I think this can only suggest that he or she isn't able to come up with a satisfactory solution to those things that American people really care about. The fact is this maneuvering has already been discredited. During the last election, China was brought up much less often.