Ex-official: China, US should work on common interests

China and the United States have become interdependent in a globalized world, and the two sides need to find a way to keep moving forward, a former senior US diplomat for Asia has said.

Susan Thornton, a former assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, said in an interview on Saturday that the two countries have many common areas of interest and it is important that they have ongoing contact with each other on those areas to avoid miscommunication.

Thornton, a career foreign service officer who retired in July, said miscommunications between the two sides can be traced to their different systems, traditions and sort of positions in the world.