Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Thursday expressed hope that China and the U.S. can hold dialogues "in multiple areas and at various levels," as top officials from both sides are due to meet next week in Alaska for the first time in person since U.S. President Joe Biden took office.

"China-U.S. relations in recent years have encountered great difficulty. As major economies, both countries stand to gain from cooperation and lose from confrontation," Li said during a press conference at the Great Hall of the People after the conclusion of the fourth session of the 13th National People's Congress in Beijing. 

China and the U.S. have great differences in history, culture and stage of development, but "what matters most is how these differences and disagreements are handled," said the premier. 

He noted that the Chinese and American people "have the wisdom and capability" to handle these issues and urged the two sides to communicate with mutual respect and fairness, while also calling on them to respect each other's core interests and adhere to the principle of non-interference in other countries' internal affairs.

"Even if a consensus is not reached for a while, we can exchange views, increase trust and clear doubts, which is conducive to managing and resolving differences," Li continued.

On March 18-19, a high-level strategic dialogue will be held in Anchorage, Alaska, between top Chinese diplomats and their U.S. counterparts at the invitation of the U.S. side, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry. 

This comes after a period of tension in China-U.S. relations while Donald Trump was president. 

On Thursday, Li stressed that the two sides should still focus more on common ground to expand common interests.

"Against the backdrop of multiple shocks last year, China's foreign trade in goods with the United States reached 4.1 trillion yuan ($632 billion) in 2020, up 8.8 percent on a yearly basis," he noted.  

"China and the U.S. share a wide range of common interests and there are many areas where we can cooperate."

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Top Chinese, U.S. officials to hold in-person meeting

Among those expected to attend the Anchorage meeting will be Yang Jiechi, member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.