The China-US relationship is at a new starting point with an opportunity for the two countries to stabilize bilateral ties after "a very difficult period" under the Donald Trump administration, according to an expert on international affairs.

Da Wei, senior fellow of the Center for International Security and Strategy at Tsinghua University, told the Vision China event on Thursday that over the past few years, the Trump administration had taken the wrong direction, and erroneous actions had led to a "severe situation" in China-US relations.

He said he hoped the new US administration pursues a policy that treats the world's second-largest economy in an objective manner over the next four years. "The two countries need to take action in the first month, then the first 100 days, then the first six months and then the first year, because the window of opportunity will not last forever," Da said, noting that the free-fall of bilateral relations can't continue.

In 2017, Trump announced his first national security strategy and called China a "strategic competitor".

However, after that the Trump administration took a more confrontational attitude toward China.

To avoid China and the US engaging in a new "Cold War" or even military conflicts, Da said the two countries should stop finger-pointing and calmly rethink bilateral relations.