(Source: news.cgtn.com)

At the opening session, Song Tao, head of the International Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said politicians from Chinese and US political parties should work to guide the development of bilateral ties towards cooperation instead of confrontation. Dialogues and consultations are expected to facilitate the settlement of differences between the two sides, Song added. 

The importance of the US-China relationship was hailed by former US Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke, the representative of the Democratic Party, and former US Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and the representative of the Republican Party, Alphonso Jackson. They said  political parties and leaders of the two countries should promote mutually beneficial cooperation and help resolve differences. They expressed the hope that trade friction between the two countries will end soon to avoid damaging the long-term development of US-China relations.