The US-China relations will enjoy steady and continuous progress in a long period to come, as many problems in the world today require the two countries to cooperate in many ways, former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger said in New York on Monday.

"Our ties in the next 30 years could make the same progress as they had made in the last 30 years, that could be good for the world, be good for our countries," Kissinger told Xinhua in an exclusive interview, as China and the United States are celebrating the 30th anniversary of their establishment of diplomatic relations this month.

Stephen A. Orlins (R2), president of the United States National Committee on US-China Relations (NCUSCR), Henry Kissinger (R3), former US secretary of state, attend a ceremony marking the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the United States and China in the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, the United States, January 5, 2009. NYSE kicked off its trading session on Monday with the special ceremony. Orlins rang the market's Opening Bell. [Xinhua]

It is a "fascinating thing" that the progress of the relationship has been "continuous" over such a long period, during which the two countries have seen four generations of Chinese leaders and eight American administrations, said Kissinger.

Just two weeks ahead of a government transition in Washington, the seasoned diplomat advised President-elect Barack Obama to also "dedicate himself to a continuous development of Chinese and US relationship."

Leaders of the two countries should be in direct contact with each other, and Obama should go to China "at a relatively very early point", he suggested.

Meanwhile, he cautioned, "We should not judge the relationship by how quickly our president travels, but should judge it by whether at an early stage significant conversations take place between leading Chinese and leading Americans and whether real progress is made on outstanding issues."

Just hours before the interview with Xinhua in his New York office, Kissinger attended a special Opening Bell sounding ceremony at the New York Stock Exchange to mark the anniversary of US-China diplomatic ties, which officially fell on January 1.

It was a highly confidential visit to China by Kissinger in 1971 that paved the way for a groundbreaking 1972 summit in Beijing between President Richard Nixon and Chairman Mao Zedong, which eventually led to the normalization of US-China relations on January 1, 1979.