US must be willing to live alongside countries of different cultures: China

The United States must be willing to live alongside countries with different political systems to its own, said China’s ambassador to the US Cui Tiankai in an interview.

During the interview, Cui analyzed the state of China-US relations, the COVID-19, as well as the Law of the People's Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR).

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"We certainly have the legitimate right to build our country into a modernized, strong, prosperous country, like every other country in the world.''

''I think the fundamental question for the United States is very simple. Is the United States ready or willing to live with another country with very different culture, very different political and economic systems? Is the United States ready to live with it in peace and cooperate on so many and still growing global challenges? I think this is the real choice. This is the fundamental choice people have to make," said Cui.

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When asked if China lacked transparency over COVID-19, Cui said the virus involved a process of discovery and learning and this needed global cooperation. He said China first communicated with the World Health Organization as early as January 3, and the Chinese CDC and the US CDC had their communication about this new virus as early as January 4.

As for concerns over the law on safeguarding national security in HKSAR, Cui said the legislation would safeguard the "One Country, Two Systems" principle and aid the process of doing business in the region.

Cui added that the targets of the law was clear, and those who avoided certain actions should have no worries.

The statement came after US President Trump attacked China once again over the coronavirus pandemic asserting that it's a “worldwide problem” caused by China.

In recent months, US-China ties have dipped to their lowest ebb in decades, strained over issues ranging from the global coronavirus pandemic and China's massive trade surpluses, to Beijing’s suppression of pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, its military buildup in the South China Sea and treatment of minority Muslims.