China on Friday called on "an innovative spirit" in addressing some thorny issues between China and the United States.

"We need an innovative spirit more than ever to address the complexities and difficulties of this relationship. We need a new vision, new thinking and new methodology," said Chinese Ambassador to the United States Qin Gang at a high-level meeting of Bloomberg New Economy Forum.

For China-U.S. relations, innovation is a "golden key" to some thorny issues, said the ambassador. He said the two countries can cooperate on climate change, COVID-19 response and economic recovery, which are innovation intensive and very promising areas for cooperation.

Qin stressed that the Cold War mentality and zero-sum game go against the trend of the times and the will of the people, and that the Chinese people never believe in the "Thucydides trap."

"China will continue to expand opening-up, continue to do business with the world, and promote technology and trade cooperation with the U.S. side. The U.S. side also needs to create conditions, instead of barriers, for our cooperation," said the ambassador.