A Landmark Visit

Later this month， Chinese President Xi Jinping will make his first state visit to the United States since assuming office. The trip will undoubtedly give a strong boost to Sino-U.S. relations and demonstrate the promising prospect for building a new model of major country relationship between the two nations.

The new model of major country relationship is characterized by mutual respect and mutually beneficial cooperation. China and the United States， the largest developing and developed economies in the world， have always attracted attention from the world in terms of how they handle their bilateral relationship.

Since the establishment of their diplomatic relationship in 1979， the interests of China and the United States have never been so intertwined and the cooperation between them so extensive. In 2014， the volume of bilateral trade in goods surpassed $550 billion—they are each others second largest trading partners—while mutual investment exceeded $120 billion. Every year， more than 4 million visits take place between the two countries， which amount to more than 10，000 cross-Pacific travels a day. Remarkable progress has also been made in energy cooperation as well as military and cultural exchanges.

Last year， the two countries effectively cooperated in dealing with the Iranian nuclear issue and the Syria crisis， addressing climate change and containing the Ebola virus in West Africa. The Seventh Session of the China-U.S. Strategic and Economic Dialogue and the Sixth Round of the China-U.S. High-Level Consultation on People-to-People Exchange have borne fruit and been praised as a great success. At both bilateral and international level， the two countries share extensive common interests that far outweigh their differences.

Occupying the top two spots on the global GDP ranking， China and the United States carry important responsibilities on their shoulders. They need to establish a new model of mutually beneficial cooperation between major countries to replace a confrontation-dominated old one. The new model of major country relationship will help keep bilateral ties on a healthy， stable and sustainable road of development， benefiting the people of both countries and the world at large.

China chooses the road of peaceful development because it values the peaceful external environment that is necessary for its development. At the same time it views itself as a major constructive force in international affairs. When it comes to Sino-U.S. relations， China has always tried to avoid conflict， as well as increase mutual respect and mutually beneficial cooperation.

At this historic moment， the two countries need to value each other and try to create more opportunities for tangible cooperation.