Christopher Nixon Cox delivers a speech at The Hopkins-Nanjing Center for Chinese and American Studies on Tuesday. (Photo: nju.edu.cn)

Christopher Nixon Cox, the grandson of former US President Richard Nixon, has shared his belief that the relationship between United States and China has grown into a "towering tree" that will not be easily destroyed, according to a report at xdkb.net.

He made the comments on Tuesday during a visit to Nanjing, where he attended the unveiling of the emblem for the Nanjing 2018 Badminton World Federation World Championships. He has been engaged as an "international sports exchange consultant," with the job of promoting the relationship between the United States and China via sports diplomacy.

During his visit to China, Cox also delivered a speech at The Hopkins-Nanjing Center for Chinese and American Studies, where he shared his insights on American domestic and foreign policy in the Trump era.

Nixon wrote to Donald Trump back in 1987, telling the man who would be president thirty years later that "whenever you decide to run for office, you will be a winner!" According to Cox, "The letter is still hanging in the Oval Office in the White House, and from my point of view, I believe the problems between China and America can be solved through negotiation."

Five years ago, on what would have been Nixon's 100th anniversary, Cox visited Hangzhou City to see a Redwood tree planted there by President Nixon during his visit to China 47 years ago. Nixon's visit marked a major thaw in Sino-American relations.

"The growth rings of this tree are like the relationship between China and the United States. If one day you cut into the tree to study its rings, you would see some years there might have been a lack of water, but, once it became a large tree, it could not be easily damaged," said Cox.