Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) meets with U.S. President Barack Obama, who is here to attend the G20 summit, in Hangzhou, capital city of east China's Zhejiang Province, Sept. 3, 2016. (Xinhua/Pang Xinglei)
Chinese President Xi Jinping said Saturday China and the United State have far more common interests than differences and hoped bilateral ties stay on the right track.[Special Coverage]
In a meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama in the eastern city of Hangzhou on the eve of a G20 summit, Xi said cooperation between China and the U.S. can lead to "great things" that are conducive to both countries and to the world at large.
He said the two countries should follow the principles of non-conflict, non-confrontation, mutual respect and win-win cooperation, deepen mutual trust and collaboration, and manage and control their differences in a constructive manner, in order to push forward the continuous, sound and stable development of bilateral ties.
A statement from China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the two leaders compared notes on Sino-U.S. relations and on major international and regional issues of mutual concerns in a "candid, in-depth and friendly manner," with a series of "important consensus" reached between the duo.
Noting it was in Hangzhou 44 years ago that the normalization of Sino-U.S. ties broke the ice, Xi also spoke highly of his previous meetings with Obama since 2013.
In particular, the building of a new type of major-country relations between China and the U.S. has witnessed substantial progress over the past three years, he said.
Two-way trade, investment and personnel exchanges are at historical highs, and both countries have worked together in combating climate change, advancing negotiations on a bilateral investment treaty, and establishing a mutual trust mechanism between the two militaries.
Important progress was also made in fighting cyber crimes, coping with the Ebola epidemic in Africa, and facilitating a comprehensive agreement on the Iranian nuclear issue, Xi said.
"All these have showcased the strategic importance and global influence of Sino-U.S. relations," the Chinese president said.
UNDERPINNING COOPERATION
With the G20 Hangzhou summit set to convene on Sunday, Xi said China appreciates the U.S. side's cooperation and support for its hosting of the summit.
He said holding a successful summit is the international community's shared expectation, as well as the due responsibility of China and the United States as the world's two largest economies.
China hopes to work with the United States and other parties to achieve fruitful results during the summit to inject momentum to the world economy while lifting confidence, he said.
On the economic front, Xi said China's fundamentals for long-term economic growth remain sound, and that the country will adhere to the macroeconomic policy of making progress while maintaining stability, and firmly advance the supply-side structural reform.
He told Obama that China will stick to the direction of opening up and reform, and further facilitate foreign investment access.
China welcomes foreign enterprises to invest in the country, and will continue to provide them with favorable business environment, Xi said, calling for efforts to reach a reciprocal and win-win bilateral investment treaty as soon as possible.
Noting that China and the U.S. handed over their instruments of joining the Paris Agreement separately to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Saturday in Hangzhou, Xi said the two countries have made important contributions again to address the global challenge of climate change.
Xi said both countries should expand cooperation in fields such as energy conservation and emission reduction, clean energy, and intelligent power grid, among others.
They should also continue to actively expand practical collaboration between their militaries and local authorities, and in areas of counter corruption, law enforcement, cyber security, culture and UN peacekeeping, he said.
For his part, Obama said the U.S. welcomes China's contribution to global development and the peacekeeping cause.
