WASHINGTON, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- It would be dangerous to advocate for confrontation against China, Chinese Ambassador to the United States Cui Tiankai has said here.

"It's certainly paranoid to fear that a China that follows its own path of development would be confrontational to the United States. And it's dangerous to advocate any strategy for confrontation (against China)," Cui told a spring festival reception at the Chinese embassy on Tuesday.

"It would be wishful thinking to believe that some political or cultural genetic engineering could be done to change China's DNA," he said.

The Sino-U.S. relationship "should be characterized by overall cooperation. Friendly competition, if competition is necessary, and no confrontation," Cui said.

"We will continue to have differences between us, but our growing common interests are far more important. We may continue to have disagreements between us, but the need for cooperation will far outweigh any differences between us. We'll continue to have problems, but dialogues will lead us to solutions," Cui said.

Noting the Chinese new year will be the Year of the Dog, Cui said "dogs are seen as loyal, sincere, and trusting companions in both Chinese and the western cultures. I believe such virtues are equally essential for relations between countries."

U.S. Senator Shelley Capito of West Virginia, who attended the event, told Xinhua that she looks forward to closer ties between China and the United States.

"Our state is really excited about the investment that's going to come from China and we think it's going to be a game changer and put a lot of people to work and create a lot of prosperity for our region," Capito said, referring to a 83.7 billion U.S. dollar investment pledge China has made during Trump's state visit to Beijing last year.

"We have a lot of common goals in terms of wanting to build our manufacturing facilities, much like China wants to build theirs and create a greater wealth for all of our citizens. We had a shared value. So, I hope we have a closer relationship. I look forward to it," she said.

More than 700 attended the event, among them U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, White House National Security Council senior director for Asian affairs Matthew Pottinger, Acting Assistant Secretary of State Susan Thornton.