CHINA has called on the United States to draw a lesson from the Yinhe affair and treat the socialist country as a partner but not its enemy, according to an official magazine.
The Outlook weekly magazine said in a commentary the US allegations that the Chinese ship Yinhe was carrying the makings of chemical weapons to Iran were not an ''isolated'' incident, but reflected the set minds of ''some Americans''.
The article maintained that there were signs of improvement of Sino-US ties after President Bill Clinton extended the Most Favoured Nation trading status for China in May.
But a series of events since July including the ''Yinhe incident'' demonstrated that ''some forces'' in the US were trying to reverse the trend of improvement of Sino-US relations, it said.
The magazine claimed that ''some people in the US'' were obsessed with the Cold War mentality and advocated the launching of a new cold war against China after the collapse of the former Soviet Union.
Insisting that China wanted to have a peaceful world for it to develop its economy, Outlook said the two powers have had common interest in the new world order.
Any damages to Sino-US ties would not only hurt China but put the US at an extremely disadvantageous position, it said.