NEW YORK, Sept. 25 -- Chinese Premier Li Qiang said here Thursday that looking into the future, China and the United States need to find the right way to get along in the new era.

Li made the remarks when meeting with friendly organizations in the United States, including representatives from the U.S.-China Business Council, the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Council on Foreign Relations, as well as scholars and business leaders, on the sidelines of the general debate of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly.

China-U.S. relations are the most important bilateral relations in the world, Li said, and the two countries can and should be partners and friends.

Looking back at history, friendly exchanges between China and the United States have been the mainstream and the general trend, Li said.

As Chinese President Xi Jinping has pointed out, the broad Pacific Ocean is vast enough to embrace both China and the United States, as well as other countries, Li said.

As the world's two major countries, China and the United States should respect each other, coexist in peace, pursue win-win cooperation, and achieve common prosperity through mutual success, he said.

Economic and trade relations are an important component of bilateral ties, Li said.

Given their distinct market structures and highly complementary industrial structures, as well as their significant roles in global industrial chains, closer economic and trade cooperation between China and the United States will mutually benefit the two countries and the world as a whole, Li said.

Li said that China has the confidence and ability to maintain stable and healthy economic development, and create more opportunities for enterprises from all over the world, including U.S. companies.

No matter how the external environment changes, China will do its utmost to provide greater certainty for the development of foreign businesses, Li added.

The Chinese premier stressed that China will always work with the U.S. side to jointly promote the stabilization and improvement of China-U.S. economic and trade ties, on the basis of equality, respect, and mutual benefit, while upholding a constructive and responsible attitude.

In the meantime, China will always focus on development and promote the steady growth of its own economy, said Li.

As China's economy has a unique and stable operating mechanism, with market potential and innovation momentum being rapidly unleashed, and economic vitality continuously increasing, it will present enormous and foreseeable development opportunities for businesses, he said.

Li added that China will always honor its commitments and unswervingly expand opening up, continuously relax market access, and expand imports.

China will actively respond to foreign businesses' concerns and offer help to resolve practical difficulties, so as to ensure that foreign businesses feel at ease when operating and developing in China.

Li stressed that as the foundation of the China-U.S. relationship lies in grassroots connections, its sound development requires the joint efforts of the people from both countries.

He expressed hope that people from all walks of life in the United States will take more positive actions to enhance mutual understanding between the two countries, expand practical cooperation in various fields, and make greater contributions to promoting the development of both countries and enhancing their friendship.

The U.S. participants at the meeting said that China has made admirable achievements in economic growth, technological innovation, social development and other fields in recent years.

Noting that U.S.-China relations concern both countries and the wider world, they also expressed hope that the two countries will maintain high-level exchanges, expand dialogues in various fields, strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation, enhance people-to-people exchanges, and develop long-term and stable U.S.-China relations, so as to inject more certainty into the international community.

The U.S. business community expressed optimism about China's economic development prospects and its willingness to continue expanding investment in China to play the role of a bridge to promote bilateral cooperation and enhance mutual understanding.