WASHINGTON, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- China and the United States have risen above ideological differences and Cold-War confrontation and made huge progress in their relations over the past five decades, which "has had positive impact on both countries and profoundly changed the whole world," Chinese Ambassador to the United States Cui Tiankai said Wednesday.

"Some are trying to deny these basic facts and redefine the relations with conflict and confrontation. What they are doing is to distort and repudiate history and dig pitfalls for the future. That will only lead China-U.S. relations down a dangerous path," Cui said at the Annual Gala of the U.S.-China Business Council.

"The wheels of history never stop going forward. The China-U.S. relationship will not and need not return to its past," he said. "But to build a better future, we must remember what we have learned from the past. Both countries stand to gain from cooperation and lose from confrontation. Cooperation is the only right choice for both."

"We do have differences and disagreements, but our shared interests always come first, so much so that no difference justifies any conflict or confrontation," he said. "We believe that at a time of deepening globalization and closely intertwined interests between the two countries, a new 'Cold War' and 'decoupling' will lead nowhere."

"China and the United States should have the wisdom and capability to overcome their differences and rebuild a strategic framework of relations featuring win-win cooperation and sustained and stable development," Cui said.