China, US urged to boost communication

President Xi Jinping has reiterated the importance of strengthening communication and cooperation between China and the United States, saying that in such a way, the two major countries could contribute stability and certainty to a turbulent world.

Xi made the remarks in a congratulatory message sent on Wednesday to the National Committee on US-China Relations as it hosted its annual gala in New York.

Noting that today's world is neither tranquil nor peaceful, Xi underlined the need for China and the US to intensify communication and cooperation, which is conducive to adding stability and certainty to the world and also helps to promote world peace and development.

China stands ready to work along with the US to find the right way to get along with each other in the new era on the basis of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation in order to benefit both countries and the whole of the world, Xi said.

He expressed his hope that the National Committee on US-China Relations and all those who care for and support China-US relations will continue to play an active role and help bring bilateral relations back to the track of sound and steady development.

Xi's message was a clear indication of China's consistent efforts to promote bilateral ties, which have worsened in recent years due to Washington's containment strategy against China.

US President Joe Biden also sent a congratulatory message to the committee, expressing his appreciation for the organization's efforts to foster greater connectivity and "support the advancement of interests that affect our countries and the world".

"Both of our nations have an important role in addressing the global challenges of the 21st century, including tackling the climate crisis and strengthening health security across the globe," Biden said in his message.

"These challenges know no boundaries and will require the broader international community to come together and for each of us to do our part in building a safe, peaceful and resilient future," he said.

In a video speech, Henry Kissinger, the former US secretary of state who was personally involved in the negotiations on the normalization of Sino-US relations a half-century ago, said US-China relations are critical to the peace and development of the world, and the two countries are obliged to coexist.

"In my experience, no relation is more essential to the peace of the world and to the progress of the world than the US-China relationship," the 99-year-old veteran diplomat said.

He cautioned that a drift of the US-China relationship into constant confrontations will have practical consequences and that "one of these confrontations will get out of hand until the current rift, which started in the previous US administration, is stopped and reversed".

The world would be grateful if US-China relations could be turned in a more positive and coherent direction, he said.

Speaking at the reception, Jacob Lew, the committee's chair, said that everyone assumes that the US and China will avoid conflict.

"That can't be assumed. You have to make it a plan to avoid conflict, and you need to have a plan for how to do business together, and you need to talk and get to know each other," said Lew, who served as the US treasury secretary from 2013 to 2017.