Dialogue, action can improve Sino-US relations

A Chinese newspaper on Monday called for "frank and sincere dialogue" and "practical action" to construct a new type of relationship between the United States and China.

The People's Daily, the flagship newspaper of the Communist Party of China (CPC), said in a commentary that the world's two biggest economies should refrain from scrambling for world supremacy.

"Benign competition and win-win cooperation should be the correct choice for Sino-U.S relations," it read.

The commentary came after John Kerry was sworn in on Friday to succeed Hillary Clinton to become U.S. Secretary of State.

Both China and the United States are confronted with arduous development tasks, as well as regional and global challenges, said the commentary.

As an important member of the Asia-Pacific region, China has dedicated itself to peaceful development, the commentary said.

The U.S. has been a major player in the Asia-Pacific region for the past century or so and it is understandable that the U.S. has attached increasing importance to the region and hopes to benefit from Asia's prosperity and development, it said.

However, the "pivot to Asia" strategy is redundant and could become detrimental, it said.

Facts have proven that clinging to a Cold War mentality and reinforcing military alliances will run against the national interests of both Asia-Pacific countries and the U.S., the commentary said.

Mutual suspicion makes it difficult to build a partnership, it said. "Paying lip service to cooperation while assuming a posture of confrontation is not the way to befriend someone," it said.

Mutual trust should become the basis of U.S.-China cooperation, it said, adding that both countries should respect each other's core interests.

"China deserves the same respect as the U.S.. Any attempt to impede China's efforts to defend territorial sovereignty and realize national unification will certainly hurt the feelings of 1.3 billion Chinese people," it says.

"Only by replacing the Cold War mentality with cooperative thinking, and confrontation and containment with contact and dialogue, can Sino-U.S. relations develop healthily," the commentary said.

Both countries should seize opportunities to carry out "frank and sincere dialogue," take practical action to inject positive energy into Sino-U.S. relations and jointly build a new type of relationship featuring mutual respect and win-win cooperation, it said.