TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Chinese Ambassador to the U.S. Cui Tiankai (崔天凱) said Beijing is ready to mend its relations with the Trump administration and does not want to wait until the U.S. presidential election in November.

According to a press release published on the Chinese embassy's website Thursday (Aug. 20), Cui expressed Beijing's willingness to cooperate with the U.S. during a virtual seminar with Brookings Institution President John R. Allen last week. He stressed that relations between the two countries are moving in a less-than-ideal direction and that continuing tensions will not be beneficial to either side.

Cui shot down global speculations that Beijing is betting on the results of the upcoming presidential election and said it does not intend to waste time in waiting. He stressed that there would certainly be competition between leading countries but no confrontation is necessary.

Cui also said the U.S. has to make a fundamental decision between initiating "post-pandemic" rebuilds and falling into the "Thucydides Trap," a term used to describe an existing power's tendency towards war in the face of an emerging threat. He said many people in the U.S. are obsessed with the idea of a "Cold War," which would only bring devastating consequences to those involved.

Meanwhile, the ambassador emphasized that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) will not lose its control over the Chinese people as a result of tensions with the U.S., as many may have hoped. He described such an idea as "wishful thinking" and said people in China will only become more united under foreign pressure, reported Radio Taiwan International.