Despite differences and occasional friction, China and the US should effectively manage discord and minimize its impact on bilateral ties, which are of critical importance to both countries and the world as a whole.

US National Security Advisor Susan Rice's ongoing visit to Beijing demonstrates the great attention paid by Washington to Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit to the US in September and bilateral ties.

The visit of Rice, who bears the responsibility of preparing the upcoming summit between Xi and his US counterpart Barack Obama, will underscore US commitment to building "a more productive relationship" between the two countries.

Similarly, China also values its relationship with the US and would like to work together with it to maintain the sustainable and steady growth of ties between the world's first- and second-largest economies.

As Xi put it, a stable and growing China-US relationship will not only benefit the peoples of both countries, but also go a long way to promoting peace and development in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond.

However, as two friends quarrel but never end their relationship, discord between China and the US is natural. The right thing for them to do is to always maintain communication, build mutual trust, and respect and accommodate each other's core interests and major concerns.

Dialogue has always been a two-way process of learning and adapting, which enables the two sides to approach issues in a more collaborative and effective manner, Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang has said.

Among many different methods of resolving differences and frictions, dialogue is certainly the most cost-effective means of doing so.

The ongoing US-China bilateral investment treaty (BIT) negotiation is a good example.

The groundwork for the negotiations, which began in 2008, was laid in 1982, but had long stalled until 2013, when the fifth round of the China-US Strategic and Economic Dialogue adopted a pre-establishment national treatment clause and the negative list approach.

It is unremitting dialogue that helped set the milestone of the BIT. Moreover, it is expected that the whole negotiation will be completed within Obama's presidency.

Thus, dialogue helps achieve broader consensus, better solutions and mutual success, as well as enhances the understanding of concerns and expectations of each side.

Against the backdrop of a weak global economic recovery and uncertain security situations in some regions, China and the US, as two globally influential countries, should seek common ground while shelving differences to build a new type of major-country relationship.

The author is a writer with the Xinhua News Agency. The article first appeared in Xinhua. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn