China says it is willing to strengthen communication with the United States, in spite of recent a frictions between the two countries.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang on Thursday stressed the importance of China and the United States working together.
Qin says China believes contentious issues that arise between the two countries should be resolved through dialogue and negotiation, and he says Beijing is willing to strengthen communication with Washington.
His comment came in response to a question about one of the most contentious issues between the two countries - U.S. charges that China has an unfair trade advantage because its currency exchange rate is artificially low.
Qin says China has repeatedly outlined its exchange rate policies, and he gave no indication that policy would change.
The U.S. Treasury Department issues its annual list of currency manipulators by mid-May. This year's list could include China.
Despite the conciliatory words on the overall Sino-American relationship, Qin indicated that China does not fully support a U.S. proposal to levy further sanctions on Iran.
Qin repeats China's position that a proper resolution of the Iran issue can only be achieved through diplomatic means, including dialogue and negotiations.
He said China is willing to stay in communication with all relevant parties and play a role in promoting what he called "peaceful talks."
The United States and other nations are considering imposing new sanctions on Iran because it says the Tehran government is secretly developing nuclear weapons. Iran denies the allegation.
And Qin also expressed China's opposition to the U.S. decision to send two Uighurs, who have been cleared of being terrorists, from the Guantanamo Bay detention facility to Switzerland.
The men are from the Muslim minority group in China's far northwestern Xinjiang region. Beijing has repeatedly called them terrorists and urged that they be returned to China to face justice. The U.S. government will not send them back to China because of fears they will be severely persecuted. Several have been resettled in other countries.
