WASHINGTON, Jan. 2 -- The U.S. government said Thursday that it remains committed to building a stable, reliable and continuous relationship with China as it welcomes the rise of a peaceful and prosperous China.

The United States wants to build such relationship with China on the diplomatic, economic and military-to-military sides, U.S. State Department deputy spokesperson Marie Harf told the daily briefing when asked to comment on the 35th anniversary of the establishment of the China-U.S. diplomatic relations.

"This is certainly not a zero-sum game. We continue to pursue greater cooperation and engagement on our common interests," Harf said.

Though Washington and Beijing disagree sometimes, the two countries worked together in the past year on some important issues, she said, citing the temporary Iranian nuclear deal which was reached late last year in Geneva to defuse the standoff over Iran's controversial nuclear program.

Quoting U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, Harf said that being able to show the strength of a relationship is being able to say when you disagree and move together constructively to work on issues that both sides care about.

"So we're certainly looking forward. Secretary (of State John) Kerry is very committed to the relationship, and we'll see what 2014 has in store for all of us," the spokesperson added.

China and the United States officially established diplomatic relations at ambassadorial level on Jan. 1, 1979, opening a new page in the history of the bilateral relationship. Thanks to the joint efforts of successive leaders and the peoples of both countries, the China-U.S. ties in the past 35 years have achieved historic growth despite some ups and downs.

The bilateral ties opened a new chapter last June when Chinese President Xi Jinping held a summit with his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama at the Annenberg Retreat in California, during which they reached a historic consensus on building a new model of major-country relationship based on mutual respect and win-win cooperation.