Cooperation is the only correct choice between China and the United States, a Chinese international relations professor told the People's Daily.

"Although it is difficult to solve all problems through one dialogue, mutual communication is a starting point for two sides to bridge their differences," said Diao Daming, associate professor at the School of International Relations of the Renmin University of China.

File photo: CGTN

The dialogue held in the Alaskan city of Anchorage on Thursday and Friday is the first high-level contact between the two countries since their heads of state had a phone call on the eve of the Chinese Lunar New Year. It is also the first face-to-face meeting between the two sides since US President Joe Biden took office in January.

Diao pointed out that this dialogue is an implementation of the consensus between the two heads of state on a phone call on the eve of the Chinese Lunar New Year. The two sides reaffirmed that they will continue to promote a healthy China-US relationship through dialogue and consultation in the future.

"During this long dialogue, the two sides gave a detailed introduction on their own domestic governance, views on the world and diplomatic considerations, and how they plan to deal with China-US relations. This is a new creation in China-US interactions," Diao said.

Diao also noted that this dialogue clarified the next steps for China and the US, such as cooperation on climate change, fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic, and arrangements regarding diplomats and media. The dialogue also involved a comprehensive range of issues, such as economics, trade, global and local issues. The two sides also mentioned that they will further promote cooperation under the multilateral framework.

Diao said that in the past 20 years, China and the US had jointly dealt with problems related to counter-terrorism, an economic crisis and fighting against the Ebola virus. They both signed the Paris Agreement on climate change. These are the contributions of China-US cooperation to the world.

"Imagine that as the largest developed country and the largest developing country, a Western power and an Eastern power, two permanent members of the UN Security Council - if they do not cooperate, then it is difficult to solve many important issues in the world. And as the world's top two countries in GDP, China and the United States together accounted for 40 percent of the world's total economic output. If the two countries work together, it will be a strong and positive signal for the current world economic recovery," Diao added.