Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said Thursday China and the United States should expand their shared interests and handle their differences cautiously.

Liu made the remarks when asked at a regular press conference to comment on a recent poll in five Chinese cities, which shows 70.9 percent of the Chinese public is "satisfied" with the present Sino-US relationship, and 56.7 percent believes that the US is taking a "containment policy" towards China.

The spokesman said China and the US now share many common interests in bilateral or multilateral cooperation and international affairs as well. The two sides should "expand and attach importance to their shared interests and handle their differences in a cautious, objective and calm way".

Liu reaffirmed that the two sides "should attach great importance to the Taiwan issue." The US should, in particular, "continue to strictly act in accordance with the three Sino-US joint communiques to properly handle the Taiwan issue," he said.