Different narratives of China and U.S.

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We can't talk about China's reform and opening-up without mentioning China-U.S. relations. That's because the world's two biggest economies are so intertwined in their interests. But the relationship is also marked by some stark differences.

China and the U.S. have very different stories to tell about each other. The difference was further dramatized when Trump came into office.

Trump says, "We accept that vigorous military, economic, and political contests are now playing out all around the world."

Then, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence made a high-profile speech that went all out in critiquing China, saying it was the U.S. that had rebuilt China over the last 25 years.

He said over the past 17 years, China's GDP has grown nine-fold and it has become the second-largest economy in the world. "Much of this success was driven by American investment in China."

A bird's-eye view of the container area at the Yangshan Deepwater Port, part of the Shanghai Free Trade Zone in Shanghai, April 10, 2018. /VCG Photo

Trump has characterized the bilateral relationship as a competition. But China, on the other hand, has wanted to pursue a "new type of major power relationship".

Cui Tiankai, Chinese ambassador to the U.S., said: "Our two countries together with other countries are faced with so many common challenges, the so-called global challenges or global issues, and no country can really handle all these things all by itself. We have to cooperate whether we like it or not. This is a growing mutual need and a common interest."

China said Washington ignored the facts of China-U.S. trade and economic cooperation and was confusing the public.

Gao Feng, spokesman of Chinese Ministry of Commerce, said China doesn't deny the contribution of U.S. investment, but China's development ultimately comes from China's economic reform and opening-up, and people's hard work.