(Yicai Global) Jan. 26 -- Cooperation is the only correct choice for China and the US, and China is always open to talks, according to its Ministry of Commerce.

After 40 years of development, China-US economic and trade ties have formed a pattern in which both countries share interest, Gao Feng, spokesmen for the ministry, said at a press briefing yesterday. A harmonious bilateral relationship will make both nations winners, he added.

US exports to China have skyrocketed 500 percent over the past 16 years, since the Asian nation's accession to the World Trade Organization, Feng said. The figure compares to an average 90-percent rise in all other countries and makes China the US's third-largest export market, up from eighth before it joined the WTO.

The Office of the United States Trade Representative disregarded the facts, confused right and wrong and even contradicted earlier statements in its annual report published earlier this week, Gao claimed, saying China strongly opposes the opinions outlined in the document.  The report says China failed to embrace market-oriented economic policies backed by the World Trade Organization and was not living up to key commitments it made when joining the WTO.

A real and reasonable market economy should involve a system that gives full play to the decisive role of the market in resource allocation, rather than a mechanism where individual countries impose their own standards on other nations, Gao said.

The ministry considers Europe and the US's refusal to allow China market economy status as a rejection of international obligations outlined under Article 15 of the protocol on China's accession to the WTO, he added.