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by Xinhua writer Liu Chang
BEIJING, Feb. 10 (Xinhua) -- The China-U.S. relationship now sees a positive sign as U.S. President Donald Trump told his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, over phone that his country is ready to work with China to take bilateral ties to new historical heights.
The two leaders' telephone conversation on Friday came one day after the U.S. leader sent a letter to Xi, in which he congratulated the Chinese president and the people for the coming traditional Chinese Lantern Festival and pledged to develop a constructive relationship that benefits both sides.
It is also the second such direct talks between the two since Trump won the U.S. presidential election last November.
The past 38 years since Beijing and Washington has officially established their diplomatic ties, the two nations have enjoyed broad range of common interests, have every reason to keep their relationship healthy and growing.
Over the past decades, political, security, economic and trade cooperation, mutual investment, as well as people-to-people and cultural exchanges have made China and the United States interdependent.
Such a cooperation and relationship have also benefited the both sides.
U.S. exports of goods to China have more than doubled between 2006 and 2015, the fastest growth among America's top 10 export markets, according to the U.S.-China Business Council.
China's economic ties with the United States have also been vital to job creation in the world's largest economy.
Bilateral trade and investment have supported some 2.6 million jobs in the United States across a range of industries, while Chinese manufactured products have also helped lower costs for U.S. consumers, said the council in a recent report.
One of Trump's campaign promises to the American people is to upgrade the country's crumbling infrastructure and create more quality jobs. More Chinese investment in the United States can help him deliver.
Meanwhile, the two countries need each other in key areas such as the fight against climate change, the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, the fight against global terrorism, and the maintenance of security in the Asia-Pacific and the whole world.
During the phone call, Trump also stressed that Washington will stick to the one China policy. His pledge is commendable for it shows that the new U.S. leader now has a clear picture of the political bedrock of probably the world' s most important bilateral ties.
Of course, like every other pair of bilateral ties worldwide, China and the United States do have their differences. To better manage their differences, the two sides should stay cool-headed and be candid with each other. There is no better way than dialogue to achieve that end. And fortunately the two countries do not have to reinvent the wheel as there are abundant channels of communication between them.
When then U.S. President Richard Nixon made a historic trip to China in February 1972, he had proved that there was no unbridgeable gap for the sake of common interests.
Forty-five years later, the task is far less arduous as the bridge is already there and what is needed is political will to meet each other halfway.
