BEIJING: Chinese leader Xi Jinping told US President Donald Trump the two countries should be “partners and not rivals” as they met for talks in Beijing on Thursday.
“A stable China-US relationship is a boon for the world. Cooperation benefits both sides, while confrontation harms both. We should be partners and not rivals,” Xi said.
Xi added he was “happy” to receive Trump for the US leader’s first trip to China since 2017 as “the world has arrived at a new crossroads.”
Xi stressed that the two countries have more common interests than differences, success in one is an opportunity for the other, and a stable bilateral relationship is good for the world.
“China and the United States both stand to gain from cooperation and lose from confrontation. We should be partners, not rivals. We should help each other succeed and prosper together,” he said.
Noting that the transformation not seen in a century is accelerating across the globe and the international situation is fluid and turbulent, Xi said that the world has come to another crossroads, reports The China Daily.
“Can China and the United States overcome the Thucydides Trap and create a new paradigm of major-country relations? Can we meet global challenges together and provide greater stability for the world? Can we build a bright future together for our bilateral relations in the interests of the well-being of the two peoples and the future of humanity? These are the questions vital to history, to the world, and to the people. They are the questions of our times that the leaders of major countries need to answer together,” Xi said.
He expressed the hope that 2026 will be a historic and landmark year for China-US relations.
The two leaders met after Trump arrived in a motorcade to the steps, where a US delegation, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and business CEOs, including Elon Musk, awaited him.
There was warmth from the get-go, with Trump telling Xi, “we’re going to have a fantastic future together,” and the Chinese leader telling his American counterpart that he was “happy” for the visit.
Xi had greeted Trump with a red carpet welcome at the opulent Great Hall of the People with military band fanfare, a gun salute, and a host of schoolchildren jumping and chanting “welcome!”.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump told Chinese leader Xi Jinping that the two superpowers would have a “fantastic future together” as the men met for talks in Beijing.
“It’s an honor to be with you. It’s an honor to be your friend, and the relationship between China and the USA is going to be better than ever before.” Trump said at the meeting in the Great Hall of the People, adding that the two nations were going to “have a fantastic future together”.
