President Xi Jinping of China met with the U.S. secretary of state Antony Blinken on Friday at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

In a statement by the China Africa Press Centre, Mr Xi said that this year marked the 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and the U.S.

Mr Xi said, “Over the past 45 years, the relationship has gone through winds and rains and has a number of important inspirations to offer.

“China and the U.S. should be partners rather than rivals; help each other succeed rather than hurt each other; seek common ground and reserve differences, rather than engage in vicious competition.

“Both should honour words with actions, rather than say one thing but do the opposite. I proposed mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation, to be the three overarching principles.”

The Chinese president added, “They are both lessons learned from the past and a guide for the future. 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 the two people and the international community to see China and the U.S. strengthen dialogue, manage differences and advance cooperation. I have said many times before that the planet is big enough to accommodate the common development and respective prosperity of China, and the U.S. China is happy to see a confident, open, prosperous and thriving United States.”

The Chinese president expressed hope that the U.S. could also look at China’s development in a positive light.

According to him, this is a fundamental issue that must be addressed, just like the first button of a shirt that must be fixed, for the China-U.S. relationship to truly stabilize, improve, and move forward.

“When President Biden and I met in San Francisco last year, we launched the San Francisco vision that is future-oriented. In the last couple of months, the two teams have followed upon our common understanding, maintained communication in various areas, and made some good progress.

“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.

(NAN)