Xie Feng: There's no reason why China-U.S. ties should be zero-sum game

There is simply no reason why the China-U.S. relationship should be a zero-sum game, as the two countries are already deeply intertwined and basically inseparable from each other, Chinese Ambassador to the United States Xie Feng said on Tuesday.

Xie made the remarks while delivering a speech at the sixth U.S.-China Business Forum, hosted by Forbes.

Xie said that in a complex world, searching for opportunities is a common endeavor, and expanding and deepening cooperation is the best way forward.

Stressing that China's journey of reform and opening up will never stop, Xie said it will also bring opportunities to the U.S. and the world.

He said China is ready to work with the United States to enhance dialogue and communication, properly manage differences, and expand mutually beneficial cooperation, so as to stabilize and improve the relationship and take it forward.

'Scapegoating solves no problem'

"A major inspiration we can get from China-U.S. relations over the past 45 years is that when we work together, both countries and peoples will fare well; but when we turn against each other, both sides and the world will suffer," Xie said, emphasizing that cooperation is the only right choice.

As the top two engines of world economic growth, China and the United States take up over one-third of the global economy, and about one-fifth of the global trade, he noted, adding that any decoupling between the two countries would only make the world poorer.

He said over the past 45 years, the two countries' two-way trade expanded over 200 times, surpassing $600 billion annually. "In the first seven months of this year, the two-way trade grew 4.1 percent when denominated in RMB."

"Therefore, we are already deeply intertwined and basically inseparable from each other," he said.

In the face of the new circumstances and challenges, scapegoating solves no problem, and trade war, industrial war or tech war produces no winner, Xie stressed.

As a new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation is unfolding, all countries are on a boat sailing upstream, he said. "Only when we face the challenges squarely, make ourselves more competitive and paddle together can we ride the tide and forge ahead."

He called on China and the United States to respect each other's right to development, uphold reciprocity and mutual benefit, and find solutions through dialogue and consultation.

The two countries need to both expand cooperation in traditional areas, including economy, trade and agriculture, and nurture cooperation in new areas such as climate change and AI, so that both countries and the world will come out as winners, he added.