WASHINGTON - The key to a more stable and stronger US-China relationship is to identify growing common interests, properly manage any differences between the two countries, and "not allow suspicion, fear, or even hatred to hijack our foreign policy," Chinese Ambassador to the United States Cui Tiankai has said.

"For us, President Trump is President of the United States elected by the American people. So we are ready to work with him and his administration to build a more stable and stronger relation between our two great countries," Cui said in an exclusive interview with Fareed Zakaria, host of CNN's GPS Show, which was aired on Sunday.

So we are ready to work with him and his administration to build a more stable and stronger relation between our two great countries

Cui Tiankai, Chinese Ambassador to the United States 

"Of course, any US leaders, any US administration would represent US interests. The same is true for Chinese leaders and the Chinese government," Cui said in response to questions on US-China ties. "But the key is to identify our growing common interests, areas where our two countries can really work together for the common interests of the two peoples and for the broader common interests of the international community."

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At the same time, "we have to do a good job in managing any possible differences between us in a constructive way. That's been our approach all along," he added.

"I think as great powers, big countries with heavy responsibilities not only for ourselves but also for the world, we really have to base our policies on a good perception of the common interests, on growing global challenges and how the international community would expect us to do, and not allow suspicion, fear, or even hatred to hijack our foreign policy," he said.

"I think the fundamental question for the United States is very simple -- Is the United States ready or willing to live with another country with a very different culture, very different political and economic systems, whether the United States is ready to live with it in peace and cooperate on so many and still growing global challenges," he said. "I think this is a real choice. This is a fundamental choice people have to make."

He noted that people have to "fully recognize the realities of today's world."

"Actually, the Chinese civilization has been there for about 5,000 years, much longer than the United States. And there is strong continuity for the Chinese civilization and there are ongoing efforts by the Chinese people to modernize our own country," he said.

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"This has never changed, whether in the last 70 years or in the last seven years. This is a continuing process. We certainly have the legitimate right to build our country into a modernized, strong, prosperous country, like every other country in the world," he said.

"We are always ready and open to work together with the US government, any administration. And especially, we still have confidence in the goodwill of the American people, and we have the same kind of goodwill towards the American people," he said. 

US military 'undermining situation' in South China Sea 

Actually, without outside interference, the situation in the region was cooling down, was quite stable

Cui Tiankai, Chinese Ambassador to the United States 

Cui also said the strengthened US military presence in the South China Sea has undermined the situation in the region. 

"Actually, without outside interference, the situation in the region was cooling down, was quite stable," Cui said in the same interview, in response to US accusations against China over the South China Sea.

"Unfortunately, countries like the US, particularly the United States, are trying very hard to intervene, to send their military, to strengthen their military presence in the region. The intensity and frequency is so high," he said.

"But ironically, the United States is not yet a contracting party to the Convention on the Law of the Sea. I don't know how many people are aware of this," Cui said.

The ambassador pointed out that the related ruling issued by a law-abusing tribunal in The Hague in July 2016 was "a unilateral action."

"We rejected it from the very beginning. We don't think this is the right thing to do. But some people insisted on doing it. We have told them very clearly at the very beginning that this is not the right thing to do. We will not participate in such a ruling. So it's not based on very solid legal ground," he said.

Actually, the fact is, at the very early stage of the pandemic, almost nobody knew anything about this new virus, how serious it was and the routes of transmission

Cui Tiankai, Chinese Ambassador to the United States

"But at the same time, we have a very strong position on our sovereignty, on the territorial claim in the region. Our claims have very strong historical and legal foundation," he said, adding that China wants to solve all the disputes with other countries through diplomatic negotiation.

Recalling his experience some years ago of working on the Declaration of Conduct between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Cui said:" Now we are working on the Code of Conduct, and we are making good progress."  

Allegations on Xinjiang 'absurd fabrications'

Cui reiterated that recent allegations by some US politicians on China's Xinjiang policy are "absurd fabrications" based on "reports of questionable sources." 

"I think it's very unfortunate people are basing their perceptions or judgments on reports of questionable sources," said Cui in response to "absurd fabrications" of "forced population control" in China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

Cui said "the Uighur population in Xinjiang has more than doubled in the last 40 years. The growth is much bigger than the population growth all over the country, and much bigger than the growth of population of the Han ethnic group."

 "I don't know how people got all these wrong numbers. The real number is the population has more than doubled in the last 40 years," he said.  

COVID-19

The allegation that China hid the severity of COVID-19 during its early outbreak in the country "is a gross misperception," Chinese Ambassador to the United States Cui Tiankai has said.

 "Actually, the fact is, at the very early stage of the pandemic, almost nobody knew anything about this new virus, how serious it was and the routes of transmission," Cui said in the interview with Fareed Zakaria.