The visiting U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John D. Negroponte said Thursday that the relationship between the United States and China has matured.

"The two countries have interactions and exchanges of human activity on a scale and depth that could not have been imagined when diplomatic ties were established in 1979," he said.

Negroponte visited China in 1972 on a delegation led by Henry Kissinger. At that time, "China and the United States had lived in political, economic and diplomatic isolation from each other for more than two decades," he noted.

"The range and depth of the interests, exchanges, and activities between the two countries have grown dramatically in the past 30 years," he said. On both sides, now there is a view and a consensus that the United States and China are "increasingly interdependent".

He added: "That requires that we conduct the relationship on a very mature basis and that is what we have sought to do, and that is what we believe to be in the mutual interest of the United States and China."

He called on both countries to work closely to meet international challenges together in the 21st century, with a focus on two main areas.

First, regional and global peace and security, the six-party talks and progress towards denuclearization of the Korean peninsula are in the interests of both countries, according to him.

Second, in terms of the economic situation, Negroponte said that both countries will work hard in the year ahead to uphold the mutual commitment to promote an open international trade and financial system.

As President George W. Bush's administration will end soon, Negroponte said: "We believe we are leaving in place a strong record of accomplishment in U.S.-China bilateral ties and robust dialogue mechanisms for dealing with issues of common concern to our two countries, whether in the international economic sphere or in the realm of regional and global peace and security."

He recommended that the "very useful" and "extremely valuable" mechanism of the Strategic Economic Dialogue be continued by the next administration.

He believed that bilateral exchanges would dramatically increase in the next 30 years.

Negroponte also emphasized that the United States remains committed to the one-China policy and to the proposition that the situation across the Taiwan Straits should be dealt with peacefully.

(Xinhua News Agency January 8, 2009)