Despite the unclear and uncertain picture of the current China-US relations, observers have emphasized the opportunities where the two countries could make a deal and advance cooperation.

At a panel themed at "China-US relations: Is a 'grand bargain' possible?" on Friday during the 7th International Forum on Security and Strategy held by Tsinghua University, observers explored areas where the two sides could have more engagement and cooperation despite the US ramping up tariffs on Chinese goods and taking more protectionist measures.

Susan Thornton, former acting assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, said there are going to be some opportunities potentially to improve things under the new US government and there are a lot of areas the US President Donald Trump has hinted at that he's interested in.

"We should keep our minds open for possibilities that things could be pursued that would constitute progress and could set a firmer foundation for (US-China) relations going forward," said Thornton, who is also a senior fellow of Paul Tsai China Center at Yale Law School.

She is also optimistic about people-to-people exchanges between the two countries.

There are a lot of people in the US that are very dedicated to making sure that such exchanges continues, she said.

Citing education exchanges, Thornton said that right now, the US-China student exchanges are quite healthy and still much desired by universities across the US.

According to her, there are over 200,000 Chinese students studying in the US.

"There's a lot of enthusiasm for hosting Chinese students at the university level and high school level and even below that," she said, adding that she thinks it's extremely important to keep these such exchanges going.

Zhao Minghao, a professor at the Institute of International Studies at Fudan University, listed areas where the two countries could explore potential for cooperation, including economy and trade, law enforcement on the fentanyl issue, artificial intelligence development as well as sub-national cooperation.

Regarding the fentanyl issue, Zhao said that Washington suffers from a severe information deficit as few people in the US have access to the information on the achievements of China in addressing the issue.

The root cause of the fentanyl problem lies within the US, and it is a perception gap for the US to baselessly accuse China, which cannot be accepted, Zhao said.

He also emphasized the importance of bilateral cooperation on drug control and law enforcement. If the US can bridge the information gap, the two countries can still achieve better cooperation through more effective mechanisms, he said.

Sun Yun, a senior fellow at the Stimson Center in Washington, said that the "bargain" between China and the US could happen at a lower or secondary level.

For example, she said, the two countries could work together to resolve regional hot spot issues like the Iranian nuclear issue.

Sun believes that cooperation at societal level and between the two peoples will not only survive but also thrive.