China's Yang Jiechi on Thursday urged the U.S. to earnestly correct its wrongdoings and make efforts to bring bilateral ties back on the right track.

Yang, a 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, made the remarks during a virtual conversation with John Kerry, visiting U.S. special presidential climate envoy.  

Yang said that for some time China-U.S. relations have faced severe difficulties due to a series of erroneous acts by the U.S. to interfere in China's internal affairs and undermine China's interests. "China is strongly opposed to and even more resolute in countering such practices," he stated.

A confrontation between China and the U.S. is not in the interests of either side, Yang pointed out, adding that China and the U.S. still need to respect each other, pursue peaceful coexistence, properly manage differences and seek mutually beneficial and win-win cooperation.

"This will serve the fundamental interests of people on both sides and people of all countries in the world," Yang said.

He expressed the hope that the United States can take into consideration the common interests of the two sides and its own long-term interests, take concrete steps to rectify wrongdoings, view China and bilateral relations in an objective and rational manner, and respect China's political system and development path.

China is open to dialogue and pragmatic cooperation with the U.S., Yang noted, adding that China and the U.S. can strengthen communication, coordination and cooperation in a wide range of bilateral areas such as climate change, epidemic prevention and control, economic recovery as well as on other international and regional issues.

"At the same time, cooperation must be two-way and mutually beneficial," said Yang.

Noting China is implementing the new development philosophy, Yang said China attaches great importance to the issue of addressing climate change and has taken a series of major strategic decisions and strong initiatives to address climate change.

He highlighted China's positive and firm attitude to address climate change, saying China respects the right to development and choice of development path, and China's own right to development and the right to choose must also be respected.

"We are willing to strengthen climate change policy exchanges and practical cooperation with the U.S. side to promote the full and effective implementation of the Paris Agreement," Yang added.

Kerry, for his part, said the U.S.-China relationship is very important to both countries and the world, and the two countries have worked together to achieve the Paris Agreement.

The U.S. is willing to strengthen dialogue and cooperation with China in a mutually respectful manner to jointly address climate change and give momentum to the improvement and development of the bilateral ties, he added.