China’s President Xi Jinping on Thursday welcomed a “new positioning” in ties with the United States, which envisages cooperation through measured competition, after his meeting in Beijing with US President Donald Trump, Reuters reported.
Xi said he and Trump had agreed that developing a constructive and strategically stable relationship would guide ties over the next three years and beyond, according to a statement from China’s Foreign Ministry.
Xi described such relations as being based primarily on cooperation, but with measured competition for “normal stability, in which differences are manageable, and enduring stability, in which peace can be expected,” the ministry added.
He called on both countries to expand exchanges and cooperation in trade, health, agriculture, tourism, people-to-people exchanges and law enforcement, the statement said.
Even though Xi spoke of cooperation, he stressed that the United States must exercise “the greatest caution” in handling the Taiwan issue, the democratically governed island claimed by China, a claim rejected by Taipei.
“The Taiwan question is the most important issue in Sino-US relations. If it is handled properly, relations between the two countries (China and the United States) can remain generally stable. If it is mishandled, the two countries will clash or even enter into conflict,” Xi said.
The Chinese president used a Mandarin word that does not necessarily mean military conflict, but can also refer to strong opposition or a diplomatic and political confrontation.
According to AFP, which also cited the Chinese Foreign Ministry, the two presidents discussed the situation in the Middle East, Ukraine and the Korean Peninsula during their summit on Thursday in Beijing.
“The two leaders exchanged views on major international and regional issues, including the situation in the Middle East, the crisis in Ukraine and the Korean Peninsula,” the ministry said, without providing further details.
Separately, Xi Jinping on Thursday promised a group of American business leaders accompanying Donald Trump to Beijing that his country’s door to the world “will continue to open wider and wider”, according to state media.
“American companies are deeply involved in China’s reform and opening up, and both sides benefit from this. China’s door will continue to open wider and wider. China welcomes the United States’ strengthening of mutually beneficial cooperation and is confident that American firms will have even better prospects in China,” Xi said, as quoted by Xinhua news agency.
AGERPRES
