China has not changed its position on developing a sound, stable and constructive relationship with the United States, but the current ties are still chilly, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang said.

He made the remark in Beijing when meeting on Saturday with a visiting US delegation representing friendly organizations and the US business community.

Extending warm greetings to the delegation, Qin said that US enterprises are welcome to expand their investment in China, and China will continue to provide a better business environment for companies from the US and other countries.

Qin, who is former ambassador to Washington, told the guests that with Xi Jinping's unanimous election as Chinese president at the first session of the 14th National People's Congress earlier this month, China will maintain the stability and consistency of its major policies and guidelines.

The country will be more open to the world as it continues to advance its high-level opening-up, and the Chinese economy and society are expecting a strong recovery, he said. Although all of these are boons for the US business community, it is regrettable that Sino-US relations are still chilly this spring, he added.

Qin said the two countries should respect each other, coexist peacefully and cooperate for win-win results, noting that sound bilateral relations require efforts from both sides.

The foreign minister urged the US to discard its zero-sum mentality, stop containing and suppressing China through unfair means, work with China to overcome current difficulties and bring bilateral ties back to the track of healthy and steady development.

Sino-US relations remain tense as Washington keeps using competition as a pretext to smear China and restrain its right to development.

On Thursday, the US added 14 Chinese companies to its red flag list, requiring US exporters to conduct greater due diligence before shipping goods to them, Reuters reported.

According to a statement on the Foreign Ministry's website, members of the visiting US delegation said that they are deeply aware of the vigor and vitality of China's socioeconomic development, as well as the Chinese people's expectations for developing bilateral ties.

The US business community supports the sound development of the Sino-US relationship and maintaining the stability of bilateral relations, they said, vowing to prevent the two countries from falling into a vicious circle of isolation or conflicts.

They also said they welcome more face-to-face engagements between the US and China, and look forward to further increasing flights between the two countries, in order to promote bilateral exchanges among various sectors and deepen cooperation on economy, trade and investment.

Cooperation between China and the US has brought enormous benefits to both peoples ever since the establishment of diplomatic relations. Newly released US official data shows that trade in goods between the two countries hit a record $690.6 billion in 2022.