"Can I do it differently?" This is the question US President Barack Obama encouraged young Chinese to ask constantly in their pursuit of individual success as he shared with college students his personal experiences in Shanghai early this week.

The same question may help China and the United States to open the door toward a healthier collective future.

For a long time, the real China has been misunderstood by westerners because of either ignorance or ideological stand or other reasons, and the word of China seemed to have often been connected with something evil or dangerous.

The West's perception of China has been changing gradually, and a positive turn has occurred as Obama has said more than once during his ongoing Asia tour that the United States would not seek to contain China' s rise but welcome China as a strong and prosperous player in the community of nations.

Be it an expedience to solicit China's support in time of the worst recession in decades or a willing-hearted strategic decision, the remarks have forged a good starting point to further Chinese-US ties as the Obama administration has made it clear that the two nations, sharing much in common while being different in certain ways, were not predestined to be adversaries.

Such mentality is just what ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius taught his students to pursue thousands of years ago: "Be harmonious yet different."

Probably just a minor event in the eyes of many Americans, the adoption of a resolution by the US House of Representatives late last month to honor the 2,560th anniversary of the birth of Confucius did hearten many Chinese.

And Disney, a symbol of American pop culture and from which generations of American kids have drawn happiness, is expected to land in the Chinese mainland as a Shanghai project has been recently approved by the Chinese government.

Such coincidence surely will help mend the cultural gap and to break down prejudices between peoples of the two countries.