WASHINGTON - China's ambassador to the United States Zhang Yesui on Friday said China will continue to promote the steady growth of its relations with the United States in 2012 and deal properly with their differences.

Speaking at a reception held for representatives of local Chinese-American communities and Chinese students studying in the United States to celebrate the Chinese lunar new year, Zhang said the China-US relations were generally stable in the past year.

During President Hu Jintao's successful state visit to the United States last January, the two heads of states reached an important consensus on building a cooperative partnership based on mutual respect and mutual benefit, he noted.

China and the United States maintained intensive dialogues and communications in the past year, while bilateral economic and trade relations became ever closer with the total volume of bilateral trade surpassing $440 billion, a rise of 15.9 percent from 2010, Zhang said.

Looking ahead into the year 2012, the Chinese envoy said China will work together with the US side to maintain steady growth of bilateral relations, through earnestly implementing the consensus reached by the two leaders, deepening dialogue, strengthening mutual trust and enhancing cooperation, while dealing properly with differences and sensitive issues.