Sino-US relations and other issues surrounding the South China Sea have aroused heated discussions and raised global concern.

Some commntators assume that China intends to change its foreign policy and challenge the American-dominated international and regional order. Voices have been raised demanding increased 'containment' of China. Judging others by one's own standards can easily lead to misunderstandings. This applies equally to relationships between individuals and between countries.

We should not forget that the claim that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction dragged the U.S. into a quagmire of war, causing the United States itself to suffer huge casualties and damage, and creating chaos which still afflicts the Middle East today.

China and the US have different social systems, development models, history and culture, thus a divergence between them is inevitable. While seeking common interests greater than the differences between both sides, the older generation of leaders in the two countries achieved a handshake across the Pacific, ending many years of Chinese isolation and developing a partnership.

China and the US are the world's largest developing country and the largest developed country. The construction of a new model Sino-US relationship is vital. The two sides have close cooperation on international and regional issues such as anti-terrorist operations, Iranian nuclear nonproliferation, climate change, prevention and control of infectious diseases. All of these effectively boost the peace, stability and development of the world.

In the framework of the upcoming strategic dialogue, China and the U.S. will hold a special session with the theme of 'marine protection'.

The seventh round of the Sino-US strategic and economic dialogue and the sixth round of high-level consultation on people-to-people exchanges will be held in the United States in the same period. Both sides can grasp this opportunity to engage in extensive, in-depth and frank communication, and enhance strategic mutual trust. China and the US should continue to promote the construction of new relationship and work together to create a better future.

The author is an expert on international issues.

The article is edited and translated from《增进互信 减少猜忌（国际论坛）》, source: People's Daily, author: Pu Laining