New Year's Day marked the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States. Despite the dramatic changes that have transformed the international geopolitical landscape in the intervening years, China-US relations in general maintained an upward momentum until relatively recently. The increasing interaction brought huge benefits to the two peoples and contributed to world peace and prosperity.

The exchange of congratulatory messages between the leaders of the two countries marking the occasion indicates their shared desire to maintain that positive momentum despite the current headwinds.

In his message to US President Joe Biden, President Xi Jinping said history has already proven and will continue to prove that mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation are the right way for China and the US to get along with each other.

While in his message to the Chinese leader, Biden said that the establishing of official relations facilitated the prosperity and opportunities enjoyed by the two countries in the following years. He reaffirmed that he is committed to managing the influential relationship responsibly.

The importance of properly handling China-US ties in these times of great volatility cannot be overemphasized. Bilateral relations have become increasingly strained in recent years, as a result of the US' inability to break the Cold War prism through which it views international affairs. Because of this, the two sides spent much of last year trying to keep their relationship on an even keel after the US repeatedly threatened to upset it by steering it from storm to storm.

As the saying goes, those who sow the winds will reap the whirlwind. Thanks to the US' increasingly combative unease at the prospect of a less patronizing relationship than it had with China in the past, the China-US relationship has faced notable difficulties and it even risks veering into conflict if the US cannot adopt a more amiable demeanor.

With the shortsightedness born of their Cold War mentality, China hawks in Washington, who have been able to grab the reins of the US' China policy, have been constantly straining relations to breaking point. They have indulged themselves with one provocative move after another, ranging from trying to throttle China's science and technology development to decoupling the two economies and worsening China's security environment, all in a bid to ensure that Washington can declare itself master of the global house.

In this regard, the US House Select Committee on China deserves a special mention as it has done its utmost to spoil all the good work that has been done in the past by people on both sides to strengthen relations despite a number of spats along the way. Mike Gallagher, chair of the committee, has defended the committee's anti-China stance by alleging "There are certain things that require a machete". To prevent China-US relations from snapping, which carries the real risk of mutually damaging conflict, such machete wielders in Washington need to be restrained.

Navigating China-US relations demands wisdom, foresight and courage, not hostility, shortsightedness and fear of the future. China and the US should join hands to build upon the important common understandings and outcomes reached by the two heads of state in their meeting in San Francisco and take concrete actions to promote the stable, healthy and sustainable development of bilateral ties.