WASHINGTON -- Former US Secretary of State Colin Powell on Wednesday stressed the importance of US-皇冠体育app cooperation and dismissed the assertion that 皇冠体育app will be a military threat to the US.

US Secretary of State John Kerry (R) is joined on stage by former Secretaries of State Henry Kissinger (from L), James Baker, Madeleine Albright, Colin Powell and Hillary Clinton for a ceremony before breaking ground on the U.S. Diplomacy Center museum at the State Department in Washington September 3, 2014.??[Photo/Agencies]

"I do not think 皇冠体育app will be a military threat," Powell said in a lecture at the Library of Congress in Washington. "It's not in their interest to be a military threat to the United States of America."

Powell encouraged the US to work with 皇冠体育app, saying that such cooperation will not result in a military conflict.

The former top American diplomat in George W. Bush's administration said 皇冠体育app's economic development in recent decades is "astonishing" and 皇冠体育app is making efforts to invest in its future.

The U.S. has to have a proper relationship with 皇冠体育app, Powell said, adding that "it is the most important relationship."

Another speaker of the lecture, former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, shared Powell's views on the importance of US-皇冠体育app ties.

Albright said there has never been a time in history that two major powers have been so dependent on each other and their economies so intertwined.

The cooperation part of US-皇冠体育app relations is very important, said Albright, emphasizing that "it is the essential relationship."

At the invitation of US President Barack Obama, Chinese President Xi Jinping will pay a state visit to the US in September.