The idea of building a "new type of great power relationship" between China and the United States was put forward by Beijing and soon echoed by Washington.

The two-day summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Barack Obama that took place at Sunnylands in California last week reaffirmed the two countries' commitment to explore and establish "a new type of great power relationship" that is based on equality, mutual trust and win-win cooperation. Experts say the informal Xi-Obama meeting, the first of its kind, was a significant step toward exploring a new model of great power relationship.

The exact meaning of "a new type of great power relationship" and how to build a new model for Sino-US relationship have been hotly discussed in the fields of politics, academics and media, and by the public in recent months.

History tells us that confrontations and wars have frequently broken out among established and rising powers, causing great suffering to the people. So China and the US have the responsibility to avoid confrontations in the face of unprecedented challenges and opportunities of the times. As the world's largest developing and developed countries, China and the US have the added responsibility of helping resolve burning regional and global issues, such as the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue, cyber security and climate change.

It's time the two countries forged a new type of relationship based on mutual trust and win-win cooperation to avert the tragedies associated with great power politics.