Chinese Ambassador Calls for Efforts to Better Sino-US Ties 　　Chinese Ambassador to the United States Li Zhaoxing believes that China and the United States should view and handle their relations from a historical height and in a strategic perspective, bear common interests in mind and work together to build a China-US constructive strategic partnership oriented towards the 21st century. 　　Speaking at a luncheon sponsored by the National Press Club, Ambassador Li stressed that the Sino-US relationship "does matter a lot to all of us, and to the rest of the world." 　　China and the United States established diplomatic relations on January 1, 1979. In the past decades, the bilateral trade has increased 19 times, from US$ 2.45 billion in 1979 to roughly US$49 billion in 1997. 　　The growth of relations gained new momentum when President Jiang Zemin and President Bill Clinton exchanged visits in the past 15 months. The two leaders agreed to strive for a constructive strategic partnership between the two countries. 　　Li was optimistic about the future of the China-US relations. However, he stressed, differences remain on some issues. 　　He urged the United States to adhere to the guiding principles enshrined in the three Sino-US joint communiques on Taiwan, the most sensitive and important issue concerning bilateral ties, as China believes. 　　 WorldNews 1999-01-10 Page2 Full Story in Chinese