Beijing, Washington can achieve 'great things' together: Wang Yi

China's top diplomat said on Dec 17 that he hoped the incoming US administration would "make the right choice" and work with Beijing, hours after President-elect Donald Trump told reporters the Covid-19 pandemic had strained his relationship with "friend" Xi Jinping.

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"We hope the new US administration will make the right choice and work with China in a mutually beneficial manner to remove disruptions and overcome obstacles," Foreign Minister Wang Yi told a forum in Beijing, according to a statement from his ministry.

The remarks followed Trump telling his first news conference since his election victory six weeks ago that Chinese President Xi Jinping had been a friend of his and that "he is an amazing guy," but that relations had been strained.

"We had a very good relationship until Covid-19," Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Dec 16, when asked whether Mr. Xi would attend his inauguration. "Covid-19 didn't end the relationship, but it was a bridge too far for me."

Mr. Wang said Beijing and Washington can achieve "many great things" if they work together, ahead of Trump's January inauguration. But he also warned against what he called the US' "crude interference" on the issue of Taiwan.

The world's two largest economies have butted heads on a range of issues in recent years, from trade and technology to human rights and China's growing assertiveness towards the self-ruled island of Taiwan.