Chinese President Hu Jintao's visit to the United States this week has brought the two countries closer, former U.S. Defense Secretary William Cohen said Thursday.

"I think the overall goal was to bring us closer together, and I think that was achieved, at least at the leadership level," Cohen told Xinhua in an interview.

Reflecting on the past year of U.S.-China relations, Cohen acknowledged that there had been drifting apart as well as friction.

"It's no longer desirable or possible to have a zero-sum game, to have one country that gains all the advantages and the other country suffers," he said.

Regarding bilateral relations, Cohen pointed out some key areas that China and the United States could focus on more. These included climate change, technology, countering the spread of weapons of mass destruction, fighting terrorism and anti-piracy.

"In terms of climate change, that is something very important, not only to the United States and the rest of the world, but to China itself," he said.

He refuted questions on China's commitment to climate change, arguing that China on one hand is continuing "to have enough energy to drive the economy," while at the same time "investing in new technologies."

"There is an area where we (China and the United States) can certainly share technology and share a commitment to move forward," Cohen said. "We need each other."

"If we work together, I think this helps stabilize the situation certainly throughout the Asia Pacific region but also globally," he said. "When you have stability, there's a greater opportunity for prosperity to really take root and to flourish."

President Hu is on his first state visit to the United States since Obama took office in 2009. He will wrap up his visit on Friday.