Xi, Obama meet for 1st summit

Chinese President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart, Barack Obama, met Friday in this picturesque estate in Rancho Mirage, California, to exchange views on major issues of common concern.

Obama received Xi upon his arrival, and the two heads of state greeted each other.

At the beginning of the meeting, Xi thanked Obama for his invitation, saying that he was glad to hold talks with the US president at Sunnylands.

"Sunnylands is close to the Pacific Ocean, and China is just on the other side of the ocean," Xi said.

Xi recalled his visit to the United States last year when he said that the vast Pacific Ocean has enough room to accommodate the development of two great powers in the world, namely China and the United States.

"Today I meet here with President Obama to map out a blueprint for the development of China-US relations and conduct cooperation across the Pacific Ocean," the Chinese president said.

More than four decades ago, Xi said, the then leaders of the two countries opened the door for China-US interactions with political courage and wisdom, making a "handshake across the Pacific Ocean."

Since then, the Chinese president said, the China-US relations, despite ups and downs, have achieved historic progress and brought huge benefits to the two peoples.

Noting that their relationship now stands at a new starting point, Xi said the two countries share important converging interests, from promoting each other's economic development and steady global economic recovery to addressing international and regional hot issues and global challenges.

That requires, he added, the two nations to strengthen bilateral cooperation.

Xi stressed that China and the United States, under new circumstances, should have an in-depth review of their ties.

"What kind of a relationship do we need? What type of cooperation should China and the United States have to achieve win-win results? How can both countries work together to promote peace and development in the world? These questions are major concerns not only of the two countries and two peoples, but also of the whole international community," he said.

The Chinese president called on the two sides to work together to build a new type of relations between big powers in an innovative and active way to serve the fundamental interests of the two peoples and to promote development and progress of human society.

Xi said that he was looking forward to having extensive and in-depth exchanges with Obama on major strategic issues of common concern, so as to strengthen mutual understanding and promote comprehensive cooperation between the two countries.

"I believe with joint efforts of both sides, the summit will achieve important and positive results, and inject new vigor into the future development of China-U.S. relations," Xi said.

Following the meeting, Xi and Obama are expected to have a working dinner to continue talks on relevant issues. They will meet again on Saturday morning.

The summit is the first face-to-face meeting between the presidents of China and the United States since the two countries completed their latest leadership transitions.