A senior US strategist said China and the United States should avoid a "comprehensive confrontation, ... while reducing their differences".

Michael Pillsbury, director of the Center for Chinese Strategy at the Hudson Institute in Washington, made the remarks on Saturday at a seminar hosted by Pangoal Institution, a Beijing-based think tank, while adding that "the possibility of improved relations between the two sides exists".

It is possible that China-US relations will improve under US president-elect Donald Trump, although a delicate period of nine or 10 months might lie ahead, said Pillsbury, who advises Trump on China policy.