Xi: Two nations can’t turn their back on each other

President Xi Jinping stressed his firm belief in a promising future of China-US relations on Wednesday, saying that the two nations can rise above their differences and find the right way to get along as long as they respect each other, coexist in peace and pursue win-win cooperation.

He made the remarks during a summit with US President Joe Biden at Filoli, a historic estate south of San Francisco.

"For two large countries like China and the United States, turning their back on each other is not an option. It is unrealistic for one side to remodel the other. And conflict and confrontation have unbearable consequences for both sides," Xi told Biden in their first meeting in a year.

Xi noted that much has happened since their last meeting in Bali, Indonesia. The world has emerged from the COVID pandemic but is still under its tremendous impact; the global economy is recovering, but its momentum remains sluggish; industrial and supply chains are still under the threat of interruption; and protectionism is rising, he said.

He emphasized that over the past 50 years and more, China-US relations have never been smooth sailing, and the relationship has always faced problems of one kind or another. "Yet it has kept moving forward amid twists and turns," Xi said.

The China-US relationship, which is the most important bilateral relationship in the world, should be perceived and envisioned in the broad context of the accelerating global transformations unseen in a century, and it should be developed "in a way that benefits our two peoples and fulfills our responsibility for human progress", he said.

Xi underscored his consistent view that major-country competition is not the prevailing trend of current times and cannot solve the problems facing China and the United States or the world at large. Planet Earth is big enough for the two countries to succeed, and one country's success is an opportunity for the other, he said.

President Xi noted that being at the helm of China-US relations, he and President Biden shoulder heavy responsibilities for the two peoples, for the world and for history.

Xi added that he looks forward to having an in-depth exchange of views and reaching a new understanding with Biden on strategic and overarching issues critical to the direction of bilateral relations and on major issues affecting world peace and development.

The summit took place as the Chinese president made his first visit to the US in six years for the summit with Biden and the 30th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Meeting.

Reporter: Xu Wei