Foreign Minister Wang Yi reemphasized on Wednesday that China and the United States should be partners instead of rivals, and they should help each other succeed rather than engage in vicious competition.

That is the most important lesson after nearly half a century of ups and downs in the China-US relationship, Wang said when meeting with representatives from the National Committee on US-China Relations, the US-China Business Council, the US Chamber of Commerce, the Aspen Institute, the Asia Society and the Council on Foreign Relations, on the sidelines of the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

The engagement came as Beijing and Washington have ramped up interactions in recent months to keep the ties steady as both sides mark the 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations this year.

Wang met with US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan last month in Beijing, and they agreed to further roll out dialogues and collaboration in areas including the two nations' militaries, climate change and artificial intelligence.

On Wednesday, State Councilor and Minister of Public Security Wang Xiaohong had "candid, professional and pragmatic" exchanges via video link with US Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

Wang said that while China maintains a stable and consistent US policy, Washington has often used conflicting voices and shown different attitudes toward Beijing. This stems from the fact that some people in the US cannot view and accept China's development in an objective manner, he said.

Wang urged Washington to recognize that Beijing has the right to develop, and that China's development is an opportunity, not a challenge, for the US as well as the world.

China-US relations are in a process of development and evolution that requires continuous dialogue and communication to eliminate unnecessary misunderstandings and misjudgments, he added.

US representatives at the meeting highlighted the need to enhance face-to-face communication, expressing their expectations that both sides will introduce more specific measures to further facilitate people-to-people exchanges.

They also stressed close economic ties between the two countries and rejected "decoupling", saying that US enterprises remain optimistic about China's future and are willing to seize opportunities to deepen their engagement and explore the Chinese market.

US-China Business Council President Craig Allen said that the council was pleased to meet with Wang to discuss current economic and trade issues, and encourages both the US and Chinese governments to reduce trade barriers and expand bilateral trade and investment, according to the council's website.

Lyu Xiang, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that Wang's intensive interactions with people from various circles in the US have expressed China's consistent stance on developing a constructive relationship with the US.

These institutions have maintained close ties at both official and nonofficial levels with China over the years and have a deep understanding of China's development, he said, adding that such direct engagement is conducive to stabilizing bilateral ties.

"The US representatives whom Wang met with are from institutions that are less involved in domestic partisan conflicts and can express their views on China in a relatively calm and objective manner, at least without maliciously pushing China-US relations toward conflict," he said.