US Secretary of State John Kerry wrapped up his two-day visit to China on Sunday. The trip, generally speaking, has been in line with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi's stated expectation, that it is for "communication and cooperation instead of quarrel and confrontation."

During Kerry's entire visit, he was received by high-level leaders of China, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission Fan Changlong, and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. This showed how much importance Beijing attached to the trip. And Kerry did play a role in boosting mutual trust and clarifying existing doubts.

Kerry's trip was overshadowed by some discordant voices in the US. Prior to the visit, doubts were cast on the Beijing-Washington relationship, especially after reports claiming that US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter recently asked the Pentagon to consider sending military aircraft and ships on patrols in disputed areas of South China Sea, including within 12 nautical miles (22 kilometers) around Chinese reefs near the Nansha Islands. The issue was increasingly hyped by the US media.

However, according to Xinhua, in a meeting with Fan, Kerry cleared that related reports do not reflect any political decision by the US government, and the White House will stick to its stance on not taking sides on the issue of South China Sea, and the same stance will apply to other parties involved in the dispute.

Kerry's visit and his remarks are clear proofs that a hard-line stance toward China from certain departments, individuals or media is not the position of the US government. As long as the two sides communicate through such high-level visits, the Sino-US ties will remain stable and further develop on a healthy track, unlike the absurd hype arguing that stability will soon be challenged by conflict, rivalry, and even war.

We should recognize that there are and will be bumps on the road in terms of bilateral ties between Beijing and Washington, which will tend to be placed under the microscope by some US media outlets and cause a biased impression of China among the US public.

But it is nonetheless more important to bear in mind that the two countries are sharing extensive common interests with wide-ranging need for mutual collaboration, including economic cooperation, regional stability, environmental protection, cyber security and anti-terror collaboration.

Problems are predictable. Nevertheless, those issues are caused in the process of development, and they are not the whole picture of Sino-US relationship. As Kerry said in a joint press conference with Wang, "It's only by talking through differences on a regular basis that you can actually work to narrow them over time. And that is the mark of an effective partnership."

A key mission of Kerry's trip to China is to prepare for the next round of the US-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue in June, and Xi's scheduled state visit to the US in September. And the preparations before that are all about exchanging views on problems of mutual concern, identifying tough ones, and paving the way for a more productive dialogue in the future. There is little point in dwelling on certain issues hyped by the media. All we need is to jointly create a positive atmosphere for the following high-level communication.

As for Xi's upcoming meeting with US President Barack Obama in September, it is without question one of the most significant diplomatic events for both Beijing and Washington this year. Interaction between the two presidents will serve as the strongest evidence that leaders from both sides are taking solid control of bilateral ties, which are generally stable, and are striving toward a better future. The big picture of stability and cooperation will not be easily shattered by malicious individuals or irresponsible hyping.

The article was compiled by Global Times reporter Li Aixin based on an interview with Li Haidong, a professor with the Institute of International Relations at China Foreign Affairs University. [email protected]