Chinese President Xi Jinping (L) and his wife Peng Liyuan wave upon their arrival in Seattle, the United States, Sept 22, 2015. Xi arrived in this east Pacific coast city on Tuesday morning for his first state visit to the U.S. (Photo/Xinhua)
Chinese President Xi Jinping called for closer cooperation between China and Washington State in a meeting with the governor, members of the state Senate and Assembly and the mayor of Seattle on Tuesday. [Special coverage]
"I have come to the United States to deepen friendship between our two peoples, expand practical cooperation across the board and bring about even greater progress in the building of the new model of major-country relationship between China and the United States," Xi said in Seattle. Xi said China and the U.S. are the most important countries in the world.
In 2013, Xi and U.S. President Barack Obama met in Sunnylands, California, and reached a consensus to build a new model of major-country relationship between China and the U.S., one of no-conflict, non-confrontation, mutual respect and win-win cooperation.
Xi said Seattle and Washington are important gateways to China and Asia. He reviewed the history of Liu Lin Hai, a vessel of China Ocean Shipping Group Co that sailed into the Port of Seattle in April 1979, the first Chinese-flag ship to call on a U.S. port since the founding of the People's Republic of China.
"It marked the start of U.S.-Chinese maritime relations. Now Washington State has the largest exports to China among all the states in the U.S.," he said. "For the future, the city of Seattle as well as Washington State need to work together with China to 'change gear and speed up' for cooperation and development."
He said both governments and cities need to work on cooperation, provide support and connections, and boost economical and cultural exchanges. Xi also said he expected further cooperation and mutual development in sectors such as manufacturing, biotechnology and environmental protection.
U.S. representatives at the meeting included Washington Governor Jay Inslee, Seattle Mayor Ed Murray, U.S. Congressman Rick Larsen, former Washington governor and U.S. ambassador to China Gary Locke.
They said they felt honored to welcome Xi to Seattle and Washington, noting that the state has a long history of good relations with China and has been expanding cooperation with China in a wide range of areas, including trade, economic, culture and clean energy technology. They also said they expect to speed up cooperation with China and strengthen Sino-U.S. relations in the future.
"The stable relationship between China and the U.S. is not only good for both peoples of China and the U.S., but also important for world stability and prosperity," they said.
Other Chinese officials at the meeting were Wang Huning, member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China, Li Zhanshu, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi.
