US, China must be ‘partners, not rivals’: Xi tells Blinken

BEIJING,
President Xi Jinping has said that China and the United States should be partners rather than rivals; help each other succeed rather than hurt each other; seek common ground and reserve differences, rather than engaging in vicious competition; and honour words with actions, rather than saying one thing but doing the opposite.
“I proposed mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation to be the three overarching principles. They are both lessons learned from the past and a guide for the future,” Xi told US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a meeting in the Chinese capital on Friday.
China is happy to see a confident, open, prosperous and thriving United States, and hopes the United States can also look at China’s development in a positive light, the Chinese leader said.
“This is a fundamental issue that must be addressed, just like the first button of a shirt that must be put right, in order for the China-US relationship to truly stabilise, improve and move forward,” he added.
Noting that this year marks the 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and the United States, Xi said over the past 45 years, the relationship has gone through winds and rains, and it has a number of important inspirations to offer.
At present, transformation not seen in a century is unfolding in a profound way, and the international situation is fluid and turbulent. It is the shared desire of both the two peoples and the international community to see China and the United States strengthen dialogue, manage differences and advance cooperation, President Xi said.
“I’ve said many times that the planet is big enough to accommodate the common development and respective prosperity of China and the United States,” Xi said.
President Xi recalled his meeting with American counterpart Joe Biden in San Francisco last year, when they launched the San Francisco vision that is future-oriented. In the last couple of months, the two teams have acted on the common understandings of the two heads of state, maintained communication in various areas, and made some good progress.
“But there are still issues to be addressed which require further efforts. Your visit this time was agreed upon between President Biden and I in our phone call several weeks ago. I hope you will find it productive,” he added.
Secretary Antony Blinken also met with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi for several hours in closed-door meetings at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse where the two tried to maintain progress in ties despite a broad and complex agenda.