The United States seeks a candid, constructive and cooperative relationship with China, and welcomes  the emergence of a strong, peaceful and prosperous China, a senior US diplomat in China said.

  The Unites States seeks to work together with China to promote the preservation of global and regional peace, stability and prosperity.

  The view was made by US ambassador to China Clark T. Randt, Jr. in an exclusive interview with Xinhua, right before Chinese President Jiang Zemin's visit to the United States starting next Tuesday.

  "I sincerely believe that our bilateral relations have never been better and that this trend will continue," the ambassador said.

  The following features the whole process of the interview.

  Question 1: Chinese President Jiang Zemin will pay a visit to the United States later this month. It will be the first visit by the Chinese president after George W. Bush took his presidency. As ambassador to China, what are your expectations on Jiang's upcoming American tour?

  Answer: The upcoming summit at President Bush's ranch in Crawford is a key event in our bilateral relationship. We hope to build on the progress we achieved as a result of the presidents' two prior meetings in Shanghai and Beijing. We seek a candid, constructive, and cooperative relationship with China. We welcome the emergence of a strong, peaceful, and prosperous China and seek to work together with China to promote the preservation of global and regional peace, stability and prosperity. We hope the upcoming summit will further this goal by strengthening cooperation on issues of mutual concern and by providing a special setting for candid and constructive dialogue on those issues that divide us.

Question 2: US-China relations have seen ups and downs since President Bush assumed office. What's your opinion on the current state of US-China relations and how do you view the prospects for bilateral ties?

  Answer: The United States-China relationship based on mutual respect is growing closer day-by-day as we find more and more issues with respect to which we have common goals and interests such as combating terrorism. Frequent high-level exchanges have served to reduce our misunderstandings, and increase our mutual

understanding, thereby reducing differences and possible sources of tension. In fact, I sincerely believe that our bilateral relations have never been better and that this trend will continue.

I can personally attest that President Bush is committed to good relations with China and the Chinese people. A strong and prosperous China is good for the region and good for the United States.  

  Question 3: After China's entry into the WTO, there are still some trade conflicts between China and the United States. The question is how to tackle such conflicts and fully tap the trade potential between the two nations?

  Answer: China's entry into the WTO is a significant and positive step in forwarding and deepening commercial ties between not only the United States and China but between China and the global economy. We strongly supported China's entry, from which both sides are now benefiting. All large trading nations have

disagreements over trade, and we have resolved many over the years and will continue to do so. The WTO gives us standards to follow in regulating our trade relationship and provides a framework for resolving disputes. We are "tapping the trade potential" between our two nations. The United States buys 40 percent of China's exports. The United States is concerned that our bilateral trade deficit with China is the largest in the world and growing.

Working together under the WTO on important issues such as securing effective enforcement of intellectual property rights and market access issues will help address this untenable imbalance.

Our complementary economic ties will continue to be one of the great strengths of our relationship and an area where we both have a great interest in continued cooperation.

Question 4: How do you evaluate the military exchanges between China and the United States over the past two years?

  Answer: Successful military-to-military exchanges require meaningful exchanges based on the principles of mutual respect, reciprocity, transparency, and consistency. We will continue to pursue this objective and are currently discussing measures to

increase such contacts with the Chinese government.

Question 5: We know you speak Mandarin and have a Chinese name. Do you like Chinese culture?  Would you please say something about cultural exchanges between China and the United States?

  Answer: Yes, my Chinese name is "Lei De", virtuous thunder, but I am not so frightening as thunder. The United States-China exchanges have come a long way since I first visited China in 1974. From "Ping Pong Diplomacy" our ties have grown to include a thriving cultural relationship. Major American entertainers and sports figures regularly come to Beijing, while two Chinese citizens will play in the NBA this season. China's long history and rich culture have long fascinated Americans. There is hardly any town in the United States that does not have a Chinese

restaurant. More than 60,000 Chinese students are currently studying at American universities, and the number of Americans coming to China to study is increasing steadily. This type of cultural exchange has great significance, for the more we learn

about one another, the more we understand our common humanity.