China and the US have agreed that the sixth round of China-US Strategic and Economic Dialogues (S&EDs) and the fifth China-US High-level Consultation on People-to-People and Cultural Exchanges will be held in Beijing on July 9 and 10.

Both sides are expected to keep the new model of major-country relationship between China and the US moving forward, through this high-level strategic communication.

A week before the dialogues began, it was noted on the official website of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs that: "The Chinese side hopes that the two sides can pull together, increase strategic communication, promote cooperation and exchanges, and deal properly with differences."

In recent months there have been some obvious differences of opinion between the two countries. Some on the U.S side believe that China is launching a strategy of showing its diplomatic strength, and pushing forward with a "de-Americanization" concept for regional security in Asia by pushing the U.S out of Asia. Some even question China’s commitment to peaceful development.

Some on the Chinese side are concerned that the U.S. is deviating from its position of non-intervention on territorial disputes between China and neighboring countries. Instead, the U.S is increasingly intervening in East China Sea and South China Sea issues in an attempt to stir up trouble. The U.S. actions are inconsistent with their words - purporting to "welcome" China’s peaceful rise while at the same time throwing up obstacles.

The differences mainly come from the U.S. government’s lack of a deep and objective understanding of China. Plus its mediocre performance on the "Asia-Pacific re balancing" strategy, the U.S is unwisely taking it out on China. China's stance is reactive to the swing in U.S. policy.

This year marks the 35th anniversary of Sino-US relations. From a historical perspective, the essence of Sino-US relations is that of mutual benefit and win-win situations, offering enormous potential. The common interests of both sides are greater than the differences between them.

When the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1979, the value of Sino-US trade was less than $ 2.5 billion. By 2013, that figure had reached a record of $521 billion. China and the United States will become each other’s largest trading partners by 2022. At that point, bilateral trade will exceed $1 trillion.

Moreover, in those 35 years there have been some striking successes in exchanges between the two countries in the fields of politics, national security, culture and others. Today, China-US relations have already gone beyond their bilateral scope, and are of increasing global significance.

Every achievement in Sino-US relations has been hard-earned; the situation nevertheless remains fragile. Nowadays factors affecting the development of Sino-US relations include areas such as structural barriers, differences between the two sides in history and culture, issues on emerging sectors, and challenges emanating from third parties.

Constantly evolving China-U.S. relations and the changing international situation have added to the urgency of furthering cooperation and communication between the two countries.

Sino-US relations are a subject of worldwide interest in the 21st century. Both sides have taken the historical decision to share the responsibility of building a new model of major power relationship. If both sides plant roses of friendship for blossoms rather than thorns, the gloom currently overshadowing the relationship can be dispersed. There will be no obstacles that China and the U.S. cannot overcome together.

The article is edited and translated from the Chinese version of《中美应该多栽花少栽刺（望海楼）》， written by Ruan Zongze. The author is Chinese International Studies fellow.