Beijing and Washington can expand their common interests to improve bilateral ties: China Daily editorial

The upcoming meeting between Chinese and US leaders is their first in-person engagement in a year. The two will have much to talk about, as there are a range of issues concerning the overall development of China-US relations that they need to address as well as global challenges that the world expects them to show leadership on.

The importance of their face-to-face talks are evident. How relations fare between the world's largest and second-largest economies has a bearing not only on the economies of both countries but also on the development of the global economy and world peace. It is therefore not surprising that the people of both countries and the entire world are hoping that the discussions will be able to put the relationship on an even keel after months of tempestuous buffeting.

Getting bilateral relations between the two countries back onto a stable course of healthy development would be a welcome outcome when the world is convulsed by conflicts and plagued by growing uncertainties. The common interests between the two countries have increased rather than reduced, as the Chinese leader pointed out in the talks he had with the US president in Bali last year.

Indeed, the increasing interdependence between the economies of both countries means peaceful coexistence between the two countries should be the sine qua non for their relations.

Global warming has become an increasingly imminent threat to the existence of humanity and regional conflicts possess the potential to explode on a larger scale. Cooperation between China and the US has never been so important as it is today.

It is natural that China and the US should have their differences. But it is not in the interest of either country for these differences to prevail over their common concerns. It is crucial that the two sides manage their differences and never amplify or exaggerate them with a view to gaining an edge in their competition. That will only be counterproductive and aggravate the existing challenges.

The trade volumes between both countries reached a new high last year despite the rhetoric on the US side about"decoupling", which speaks volumes about how important the two economies are to each other.

The latest statistics show that more than 70,000 US enterprises have businesses in China, and 90 percent of them are profiting from their business in China. That the top executives of leading US sci-tech companies have visited China this year suggests how important China is for their development.

That the US sent the largest delegation to participate in the recently concluded sixth China International Import Expo sent a strong message that China-US relations were experiencing an upturn. If that can be given greater momentum this week, it will be a blessing for both countries and the world.