Stable China-US Relations Benefit Entire World - Xi Jinping

BEIJING, May 14 (Bernama-Sputnik/RIA Novosti) -- Before starting talks with United States (US) President Donald Trump in Beijing, Chinese President Xi Jinping said he was happy to meet with the US leader in the Chinese capital, reported Sputnik/RIA Novosti.

"Dear Mr President Trump, I am very pleased to meet with you in Beijing," Xi said on Thursday.

He said stable China-US relations benefit the entire world, and cooperation can benefit both sides. 

"Stable China-US relations benefit the entire world. Both sides should cooperate and be partners, not adversaries, to achieve mutual success and prosperity, and pave the way for proper interaction between major powers in the new era," Xi said.

Xi stressed the importance of avoiding the Thucydides Trap in relations between Beijing and Washington.

"Whether China and the US can overcome the so-called Thucydides Trap and create a new model of relations between great powers… these are questions posed by history, the world, and peoples," Xi said.

He said changes unseen in the past century are currently accelerating, the international situation is full of instability, and the world is at a new crossroads.

The Thucydides Trap is a term to describe a tendency towards war when an emerging power threatens to displace an existing great power.

This term is often used to describe the relationship between the global superpower, the US, and the rising power, China, on the international stage.

"I have always believed that the common interests of China and the US outweigh the differences between them, and that each side's success is an opportunity for the other," the Chinese leader said.

"Facts have repeatedly proven that there are no winners in trade wars," Xi said as quoted by China Central Television.

"The essence of China-US trade and economic relations is mutual benefit," Xi said. 

"In conditions of disagreements and frictions, consultations on an equal basis are the only right choice," Xi said, speaking about trade and economic relations between the two countries.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump said that the Chinese President Xi Jinping is a great leader.

“You're a great leader. I say it to everybody. You're a great leader. Sometimes people don't like me saying it, but I say it anyway, because it's true. I only say the truth,” Trump said during the meeting with Xi.

Trump added that it is an honour for him to be with the Chinese president.

He said that the United States (US) and China have always overcome difficulties because of his personal relationship with President Xi Jinping.

“When there were difficulties, we worked it out. I would call you, and you would call me, and whenever we had a problem, people wouldn't know. Whenever we had a problem, we worked it out very quickly,” Trump said during his meeting with Xi at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

Trump said that the US would conduct business with China on a fully reciprocal basis.

"And they're [US businessmen] here today to pay respects to you and to China, and they look forward to trade and doing business, and it's going to be totally reciprocal on our behalf," Trump said during the meeting with Xi.

He further said that he hopes the US and China will have a "fantastic future."

The two leaders are holding talks as part of Trump's state visit to China on May 13-15. 

-- BERNAMA-SPUTNIK/RIA NOVOSTI