Colin Willett, deputy assistant secretary of U.S. Department of State, poses for photos after an exclusive interview with Xinhua in Banda Seri Begawan, Brunei's capital on April 11, 2016. (Xinhua/Jeffrey Wong)
The United States and China need to better manage their disagreements in bilateral relations so as to ensure peace and stability as well as to contribute to prosperity in the region, Colin Willett, Deputy Assistant Secretary of U.S. Department of State said in an interview with Xinhua Monday.
"I actually think that U.S. and China can get along," she said regarding to recent tensions between Sino-U.S. relations, "We certainly still have areas where we disagree or we have areas of conflicts, but we have areas of disagreement and conflicts with Brunei as well. I think we're maybe just more experienced with some of these relationships at managing those differences."
Willett said that bilateral relations between China and U.S. "is incredibly important" and U.S and China share wider scope of common interests globally, so the two countries need to better manage their disagreements.
"Over the last few years, both of our governments have put in quite a bit of time into developing mechanisms for bilateral dialogue and mechanisms for bilateral cooperation, so that we can get better at managing the areas where we disagree and having a frank conversation about why we have those disagreements," She stated in the interview.
"That's how we manage areas of disagreement with Brunei or Australia or the philippines and I think it's the way that we can have a good relationship with China as well," she added.
