SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- China-U.S. cooperation is not a zero-sum game but a win-win development, and their cooperation is in the best interests of the two countries and therefore their best option, a top Chinese diplomat said here Thursday.
In a signed article published in the online edition of The Seattle Times, a major newspaper in the western U.S. state of Washington, Chinese Consul General Wang Donghua said the year 2019 marks the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States.
"Over the last four decades, China and the United States have made historic progress in advancing their relations and cooperation, delivering enormous benefits to our two countries and peoples, and contributing greatly to the world peace and prosperity," he said.
The trajectory of their bilateral relations over the past 40 years has shown that China and the United States are not strategic adversaries but important partners, and the two countries have more common interests than ever, which call for the need to strengthen their cooperation more than ever in a world of economic globalization and increasing uncertainties, Wang said.
He cited the Boeing Company, a top U.S. aircraft manufacturer, as one of the businesses that has benefited from the opportunities generated by China's economic growth.
China is now the largest export market for Boeing aircraft and U.S. soybeans, and the second-largest export market for U.S. automobiles, integrated circuit products and cotton, said the Chinese diplomat.
In the next 20 years, China will need 7,690 passenger aircraft to meet consumer and business demand for air travel, and this means more opportunities for many countries that have set their sights on China's growth, Wang added.
Boeing delivered an aircraft to China's Xiamen Airlines on Nov. 30, 2018, which became a milestone in China-U.S. cooperation, as the passenger jet was the 2,000th commercial airplane that Boeing has manufactured for China.
It took more than 40 years for Boeing to deliver the first batch of 1,000 airplanes to China, but only five years to deliver the second batch of 1,000 aircraft, and the speed of delivery of the 2,000th plane testifies that the Chinese market, including air services, has been expanding rapidly alongside its economic development, Wang said.
However, high tariffs imposed on China's exports to the United States have adversely impacted many industries in the United States, Boeing included, which have felt the pains of the trade frictions between China and the United States, said Wang.
Wang noted that the heads of state of both countries had a good meeting at the recent G20 summit, which helped avert the danger of a further escalation of the trade disputes between the world's two largest economies.
"There is still a lot to do before the trade cooperation between the two countries can turn back to normal," and China would like to work with the United States for the greater benefit of both the Chinese and American people, said the Chinese consul general.
