LOS ANGELES, May 17 (Xinhua) -- Cooperation is the only right choice for China and the United States, Chinese Consul General in Los Angeles Zhang Ping said on Friday.

Zhang made the remarks after cutting the ribbon for a photo exhibition to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the establishment of China-U.S. diplomatic ties.

The exhibition, sponsored by the China National Tourism Office in Los Angeles, the Richard Nixon Foundation, the Chinese Consulate General in Los Angeles and other institutions, will provide an opportunity for the local people to better understand what China-U.S. relations have achieved over the past 40 years and to reflect on how the relationship should be shaped in the future, Zhang said.

The history of the four-decade-long relationship proves that cooperation is the only right choice for China and the United States, which can deliver win-win results, he said.

Meanwhile, Zhang hoped that people-to-people bonds between the two countries would remain strong and cultural and personnel exchanges would not be interrupted by the trade frictions, which Zhang said "is something neither we initiated nor we want."

The exhibition held in South Coast Plaza, the largest shopping mall on the West Coast of the United States, also kicked off the China Tourism and Culture Week in Los Angeles which lasts till May 26.