Xi stresses benefits of Sino-US relations
‘Thousand reasons to make ties work’
Visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping said Friday that there is no reason to ruin China-US relations, calling on China and the US to bring their people more benefits as the world’s two biggest economies develop bilateral ties.
Xi arrived in the US coastal town of Palm Beach Thursday afternoon US time, for his first meeting with US President Donald Trump to push forward China-US relations from a new starting point.
Addressing a welcome banquet hosted by Trump and his wife Melania, Xi said he and Trump held good talks earlier in the afternoon,
reaching important consensus on the development of China-US ties, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Friday.
While meeting with Trump in the latter’s Florida resort of Mar-a-Lago, Xi said, “There are a thousand reasons to make the China-US relationship work, and no reason to break it.”
Since the normalization of China-US relations 45 years ago, the bilateral ties, even though having experienced ups and downs, have made historic progress and brought enormous and pragmatic benefits to the two peoples, Xi said.
“President Xi clearly pointed out China’s attitude toward the development of China-US ties, that is, cooperation is the only correct choice for both countries and we could become good partners. Trump understands that China is a challenging partner but his words reflect the value he attaches to the development of ChinaUS friendship,” Li Haidong, a professor with the Institute of International Relations at China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times.
Trump congratulated Xi on his achievements in leading China’s development, and the international respect Xi earned in the process. He said he had a good discussion with Xi in their first meeting and exchanged opinions on a wide array of topics, reported Xinhua.
The two leaders held an in-depth exchange of views on major global and regional issues of common concern, with the discussions being continued on Friday US time.
Future commitment
During the speech, Xi expressed his readiness to lead, together with Trump, people who have good wishes and passion to upgrade China-US relations. He said it takes political resolve and historical commitment from leaders of both countries to enhance the bilateral ties in the next 45 years.
Xi called on China and the US to establish four high-level dialogues and cooperation mechanisms in terms of diplomacy, economy, law enforcement and cyber security, cultural and people-to-people exchanges. Moreover, he also urged the two countries to manage differences and solve sensitive issues in a constructive way.
Xi also invited Trump to pay a state visit to China in 2017. Trump accepted the invitation with pleasure, and hoped to make the trip at an early date, according to Xinhua.
“This meeting may not deal with specific issues, but we are expecting that they could reach some consensus. Xi has provided specific direction for the development of bilateral relations and we hope that the two countries could solve specific problems based on the direction,” Diao Daming, a research fellow at the Institute of American Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Friday.
At the resort of Mar-a-Lago, the two leaders and their wives watched Trump’s grandchildren singing a Chinese song, “Jasmine Flower,” reciting poems of Tang Dynasty (618-907) and “Three Character Primer,” or San Zi Jing, one of the ancient Chinese classic texts.
“The meeting shows that Xi and Trump have established a good personal relationship. The Trump family’s respect for Chinese culture also shows that they have faith in China’s future,” said Li.