Xi Wants to Be a US Partner, Trump Acknowledges Fantastic Relations with China
Beijing (ANTARA) - Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump began the long-awaited bilateral talks at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Thursday (14/5).
“Allow me to say a few things first, then I would like to invite you, President Trump, to give the opening remarks. I am delighted to meet you in Beijing. Welcome back to China after nine years,” said President Xi as he began his address in front of Trump, accompanied by cabinet ministers.
In the approximately two-minute opening speech, President Xi stated that unprecedented changes in the last century are currently occurring, and the international situation is highly dynamic and turbulent. The world has arrived at a new crossroads.
“Therefore, we must be partners, not compete with each other; we should help one another to achieve success and prosperity together and find the right way for major countries to get along well with each other,” President Xi revealed.
Xi noted that this year marks the 250th anniversary of US independence and offered congratulations.
“Congratulations to you and the American people. I have always believed that our two countries have more common interests than differences. The success of one country is an opportunity for the other, and stable bilateral relations are certainly good for the world,” President Xi added.
Both China and the US, Xi explained, will benefit from cooperation and suffer losses from confrontation.
“In this new era, I look forward to our discussions on major issues important to our two countries and the world, and working with you to steer the giant ship of China-US relations, making 2026 a historic milestone that opens a new chapter in China-US relations,” Xi concluded.
Meanwhile, Trump opened his speech by praising the children who greeted him during the welcoming ceremony.
“First of all, it is a rare honour, and I think I was very impressed by those children. They are happy and beautiful. The military is clearly good, but those children are extraordinary, and they represent so much to me; I know they represent so much to you,” said Trump.
Trump stated that he has known President Xi for a long time and even described it as the longest relationship between the two countries compared to any other presidential ties.
“We have a fantastic relationship; we stay in harmony when there are difficulties. We resolve them. I will call you, and you will call me, and every time we have a problem, people don’t know when we have a problem, but we work very quickly, and we will have a fantastic shared future because of that; my respect to China,” Trump revealed.
Trump also praised Xi as a great leader.
“I say it to everyone. You are a great leader. Sometimes people don’t like me saying it, but I still say it because it’s true. I only say the truth,” Trump added.
Trump then mentioned that he came with the largest and best business delegation in the world.
“We have extraordinary people, and they are all with me. Every one of them. We asked for the 30 best people in the world, and every one of them said yes, and I didn’t want the second or third best from companies; I only wanted the best, and they are here today to convey respect to you and to China,” Trump explained.
That business delegation, said Trump, hopes to conduct trade and business, and it will be fully reciprocal from the US-China relationship.
“So, I am very much looking forward to it. Our discussions are big discussions. Some say this may be the biggest summit ever. They don’t remember anything else like this, and I can say that in the US, people are not talking about anything else but this meeting,” Trump added.
He is confident that relations between the US and China will be better than ever before.
Trump reportedly brought dozens of US company CEOs and executives, including Larry Fink (CEO and co-founder of BlackRock), Stephen Schwarzman (CEO and co-founder of Blackstone), Kelly Ortberg (CEO of Boeing), Brian Sikes (CEO of Cargill), Jane Fraser (CEO of Citigroup), and Jim Anderson (CEO of Coherent).
Then Larry Culp (CEO of GE Aerospace), David Solomon (CEO of Goldman Sachs), Jacob Thaysen (CEO of Illumina), Michael Miebach (CEO of Mastercard), Dina Powell McCormick (President and Vice Chair of Meta), Sanjay Mehrotra (CEO of Micron),
Cristiano Amon (CEO of Qualcomm), Elon Musk (CEO of Tesla and SpaceX), Ryan McInerney (CEO of Visa), and Jensen Huang (CEO of NVIDIA), who joined last on Air Force One during refuelling in Alaska.