The China-US ties have gone through serious difficulties, Chinese Ambassador to the United States Qin Gang (top middle) says during an annual gala of the US-China Policy Foundation on Dec 21, 2021. (PHOTO / CHINESE EMBASSY IN THE US)

WASHINGTON – Common development should become a major consensus of China and the United States, Chinese Ambassador to the US Qin Gang said on Tuesday.

China's sustained and stable development is not a threat to the US, but "a major opportunity and benefit", Qin said during an annual gala of the US-China Policy Foundation.

"China's development is aimed at meeting the people's aspiration for a better life, not to enter into a win-lose competition with any country," he said.

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We hope that the United States will respect the Chinese people's right to pursue a better life and accept China's development.

Qin Gang, Chinese Ambassador to the US

Over the past few years, the China-US relationship has gone through serious difficulties, which is not in the fundamental interests of the two peoples, Qin said.

“We hope that the United States will respect the Chinese people's right to pursue a better life and accept China's development,” said the Chinese envoy.

As President Xi Jinping stressed, China and the US should respect each other, coexist peacefully and carry out win-win cooperation.

The ambassador expressed his hope that the experts will pool wisdom and jointly explore how the two countries can get along with each other and how to take the China-US relations back to the right track of healthy and stable development.

The US participants reviewed the history and looked forward to the future of the Sino-US relations. They mainly emphasized the importance of strengthening exchanges and communication, as well as enhancing mutual understanding and trust between the two sides.

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Attendees to the event included Rick Larsen, House representative of Washington State and co-chair of the US-China Working Group in the House; Rick Waters, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the US Department of State; and former US Ambassador to China Stapleton Roy.