BEIJING, March 13 -- The U.S. government has once again succumbed to its paranoia over China by voicing almost reflective skepticism and doubt about the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), after Britain announced its bid to join the bank.

Britain on Thursday announced the hope to become the first major Western country to join the Beijing-headquartered AIIB.

The bank was launched in Beijing in 2014 to boost investment in such sectors as transportation, energy and telecommunication.

Britain's announcement, however, received a frosty reception from Washington, which raised concerns about whether the AIIB would have sufficiently high standards on governance, and environmental and social safeguards.

The response of the U.S. government exhibited nothing but a childish paranoia towards China, which, however, is not quite surprising, as Washington has indulged itself in that distrusting mind-set for years.

Some U.S. politicians tend to see every move China has made with deep suspicion. Sometimes they just could not restrain the urge to make carping and irresponsible comments when it comes to issues related with the rapidly emerging Asian country.

They tend to turn a habitual blind eye to the constructive efforts made by China, and there is no exception when it comes to the country's initiative on building the Silk Road Economic Zone and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road brought up in 2013 as well as the Silk Road Fund designed for financing the initiative.

It seems that the U.S. government needs to be reminded that bias and a deep-rooted strategic distrust towards China are by no means helpful in forging a healthy relationship with the country.

And such deep suspicion, or paranoia, could only prevent the two countries from narrowing down their differences and expanding cooperation in various fields, and eventually jeopardize efforts in building a new type of major-country relations.

It's imperative for Washington to change its mind-set and get rid of the China paranoia.

After all, what the two countries really need is a new model of mutually beneficial relationship featured by cooperation and win-win results, which could bring tangible benefits to the peoples of both nations.

And that could only be achieved through hard works, joint efforts and, more importantly, mutual trust.