The year 2024 marks the 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and the US. On January 1, President Xi Jinping and President Joe Biden exchanged letters of congratulations on this occasion.

The establishment of China-US diplomatic relations is a consequential event in the history of both China-US ties and international relations. For 45 years, China-US relations have weathered winds and rains and come a long way. Bilateral trade surged from less than USD 2.5 billion in 1979 to close to USD 760 billion in 2022; two-way investment increased from almost zero to over USD 260 billion; and 284 pairs of sister provinces, states and cities were set up. The two countries have also carried out useful cooperation on various international and regional hotspots and global issues. History shows that the growth of China-US relations not only contributes to the good of the two peoples but also to world peace, stability and development.

China’s US policy is consistent and clear, namely mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation. This is the experience we have gained from the course of China-US ties over the years and the right way for the two countries to get along with each other. It is consistent with the trend of the times and serves the common interests of both sides. One country’s success is an opportunity for the other. We can help each other succeed and prosper together.

China is committed to a stable, sound and sustainable China-US relationship. At the summit meeting in San Francisco, President Xi and President Biden reached over 20 deliverables in such areas as political affairs and foreign policy, trade and finance, people-to-people exchange, global governance, and military and security. They fostered a future-oriented San Francisco vision, which points the way forward for bilateral relations. China is ready to work with the US to faithfully implement the important common understandings and outcomes reached at the summit meeting, jointly develop a right perception, manage disagreements effectively, advance mutually beneficial cooperation, shoulder responsibilities as major countries, and promote people-to-people exchanges so as to steer the relationship in the right direction to the benefit of both countries and the world at large.