NEW YORK, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- Former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger on Wednesday expressed optimism over U.S.-China relations in the upcoming Trump administration.

"When a new president examines the national interest of the United States, he will come to a conclusion that a good relationship with China is an important element," he told an event co-hosted by China's Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business and the Committee of 100, a nonpartisan organization.

The U.S.-China relationship has been conducted through eight administrations in a very similar way, said the 93-year-old veteran diplomat. It's "the one bi-partisan foreign policy that we conducted" since the normalization of U.S.-China relations.

Kissinger expressed optimism over U.S.-China cooperation -- instead of confrontation -- in the new administration.

"In the beginning of an administration, it's possible that many different points of view are expressed ... I hope that the cooperative way will prevail."

Kissinger warned about the danger of a confrontational approach, saying "if China and America are in conflict, the whole world will be divided."

Kissinger was secretary of state under the Nixon administration and a crucial figure in the establishment of China-U.S. diplomatic ties in 1979.