The US needs to work with China in areas where cooperation is easy to carry out and can have global impact, a former US official said.

"It's important for the US to work with China where there are disagreements but can create strategic dialogue, which will create a good starting point for the China-US relations. And that is usually the economy, not only in the US-China interest, but the whole world's interest," said Robert B. Zoellick, chairman of Goldman Sachs International Advisors, during an interview on US policy towards Asia at the Heritage Foundation in Washington on Tuesday.

Zoellick said that most people believed that the crucial part of China-US relations was in places such as the Asia Pacific regions, but his experience working at the World Bank and IMF made him believe that there are certain areas that the two countries should work together on, for example, when it came to Africa.

Zoellick served as the 11th president of the World Bank Group from 2007 to 2012, and was deputy secretary at the US Department of State from 2005 to 2006. Prior to that, he worked as the US Trade Representative from 2001 to 2005.

"China has been very cooperative in raising money for the World Bank and helping poor countries," he said, mentioning infrastructure projects China had supported in Africa.

Much of the US' relations across the Asian Pacific is security based, he said. He also said that it is more important for the US to influence the rules in Asia, such as intellectual property, which is not only about economic ties but will also have a global effect.

Regarding the TPP, he said it would not be easy to get done but he thinks it is important to get it done in 2016.