HONG KONG, July 10 (Xinhua) -- Some U.S. scholars on Wednesday called on the world's two largest economies to strengthen cooperation for a continued win-win situation, rather than sticking to confrontation that will only lead to a lose-lose scenario.

"This is not a time for confrontation," Stephen Roach, a senior fellow at Yale University's Jackson Institute of Global Affairs, told Xinhua on the sidelines of an international forum themed "U.S.-China Trade and Economic Relations: What Now, What Next" held in Hong Kong.

"This is a time to move away from the confrontation that is practiced by our president in the so-called 'art of the deal' where one nation pushes hard and intimidates the other," Roach said.

The renowned economist said he was encouraged by the fact that the two sides started talking again after the meeting of the two heads of state during the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan, in late June.

In the latest development, Chinese Vice Premier Liu He on Tuesday evening held a telephone conversation with U.S. negotiators to exchange views on implementing the consensus reached by the two countries' leaders. Chinese Minister of Commerce Zhong Shan also joined the conversation.

"There's a lot to be gained by a cooperative engagement whether it is on issues of market access, macroeconomic adjustments, the cyber, or the structure of the dialogue," Roach said.

Edwin Feulner, founder of U.S. think tank The Heritage Foundation, who also attended the forum, told the media that he was fundamentally optimistic about the two countries working together.

"If we can get rid of some of these nagging, continuing problems, we will be able to help not only people of the two countries, but everybody in the whole world," he said.

David Lampton, Oksenberg-Rohlen fellow and research scholar at Stanford University's Asia Pacific Research Center, said the two countries have every reason to continue cooperation.

"I see great potential for the U.S.-China economic relationship as we have very compatible economies in many respects," he said. "While China needs agriculture, energy and technology, the United States also needs many of the things that China manufactured."

Investment from China creates jobs for American people and is very important in the global system, Lampton said.

Roach believes that China's further opening-up, including a shorter negative list for foreign investment, will offer more opportunities for the United States and other countries.

"The world economy for the next 50 years is going to be impacted by the Chinese and American economies together," Feulner said. "We have to work together and I think we are on track to start doing that."