Xi says Trump agrees to build stable China-US relations

Beijing (ANTARA) - Chinese President Xi Jinping stated that his counterpart, US President Donald Trump, agrees to build stable, strategic, and sustainable China-US relations. “President Trump and I also agree to build constructive China-US relations with strategic stability, promote the stable, healthy, and sustainable development of China-US relations, and bring more peace, prosperity, and progress to the world,” said President Xi at a dinner reception in the Great Hall of the People, Beijing, on Thursday. The evening reception also served as a welcome for Trump and was held after the two leaders conducted various activities since 10:00 local time, including a state ceremony, a 2-hour 15-minute bilateral meeting, and a visit to the Temple of Heaven. “This is a historic visit. More than 1.4 billion Chinese people, drawing on China’s rich 5,000-year civilisational heritage, are comprehensively advancing China’s modernisation through high-quality development,” Xi revealed. Xi noted that China is launching its 15th Five-Year Plan this year, while it also marks the 250th anniversary of US independence. “More than 300 million American people are reviving the spirit of patriotism, innovation, and entrepreneurship, ushering in a new journey for US development. The Chinese and American peoples are both great peoples,” Xi added. The realisation of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and the efforts to make America great again can proceed hand in hand, according to Xi. “The two countries can support each other’s success and advance the well-being of the entire world,” Xi stated. He then recounted that 50 years ago, President Richard Nixon sent then-US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger to visit China. “China and the US then carried out ‘ping-pong diplomacy’ through joint efforts by the governments and peoples of both countries. The door to relations between the two countries, which had been frozen for more than 20 years, was opened, and this became an important milestone in contemporary international relations history,” Xi added. Since then, Xi said, China and the US have written many stories of friendship through openness and mutual cooperation. “In the new situation, President Trump and I, fully aware of the expectations of the peoples of both countries and the international community, have held several meetings and telephone conversations, and have kept China-US relations generally stable,” Xi stated. Today, President Xi said that he and President Trump have exchanged in-depth views on China-US relations as well as international and regional dynamics. “We both believe that China-US relations are the most important bilateral relationship in the world today. This relationship must be made to work well, not ruined, because both countries will benefit from cooperation and both will suffer from confrontation. The two countries should be partners, not rivals,” Xi stressed. Moreover, looking back at the course of China-US relations development, Xi said the two countries can achieve mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation as the key to steadily developing relations. “China-US relations concern the well-being of more than 1.7 billion people in both countries and affect the interests of more than 8 billion people worldwide. The two countries must jointly shoulder this historical responsibility and steer the giant ship of China-US relations to continue moving forward steadily on the right course,” Xi said. Accompanied by officials from both countries, Donald Trump’s son, Eric Trump, and his wife were also present at the meeting. Leaders of companies from the US and China were also in attendance. From the US were Tim Cook (CEO of Apple), Dina Powell McCormick (President and Vice Chair of Meta), Jensen Huang (CEO of Nvidia), Brian Sikes (CEO of Cargill), Elon Musk (CEO of Tesla), Kelly Ortberg (CEO of Boeing), Jane Fraser (CEO of Citigroup), David Solomon (CEO of Goldman Sachs), Larry Culp (CEO of GE Aerospace), Cristiano Amon (CEO of Qualcomm). Then Ryan McInerney (CEO of Visa), Sanjay Mehrotra (CEO of Micron Technology), Michael Miebach (CEO of Mastercard), Larry Fink (CEO and one of the founders of BlackRock), Stephen Schwarzman (CEO and one of the founders of Blackstone), Jim Anderson (CEO of Coherent), Jacob Thaysen (CEO of Illumina), and the leadership of the New York Stock Exchange. From China, representatives from Air China, Douyin, China International Capital Corporation, Haier Group, ICBC, Lenovo Group, Fuyao Glass Industry, Lens Technology, COFCO Group, Bank of China, Xiaomi Technology, COMAC, Wanda Group, COSCO Shipping, China Tourism Group, Hisense Group, and others were also present. The guests were served special dishes such as Hua Diao drunken chicken, osmanthus glutinous rice, five-spice beef, and cucumber jellyfish for appetisers. Then there was steamed chicken soup, Beijing roast duck, steamed grouper, kung pao prawns, sea cucumber with spring onions, black pepper beef, stir-fried vegetables, Yangzhou fried rice as main courses, and almond pudding and fruit for dessert.