Chinese President Xi Jinping voiced hope that 2026 would be “a historic, landmark year” marked with opening a new chapter in China-US relations.
“China and the United States have more common interests than differences,” Xinhua quoted him as saying while opening the summit talks with US President Donald Trump at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Thursday morning.
“Success in one is an opportunity for the other, and a stable bilateral relationship is good for the world,” the Chinese leader told his guest.
Noting that China and the United States should be partners instead of rivals, President Xi said the two countries should help each other succeed and prosper together and find the right way for major countries to get along well with each other in the new era.
“I look forward to our discussions on major issues important to our two countries and the world, and working together with you to set the course and steer the giant ship of China-US relations, so as to make 2026 a historic, landmark year that opens up a new chapter in China-US relations,” President Xi added.
The world is at a crossroads with the global situation being fraught with peril, he said, noting that this situation brought to the test the ability of China and the United States to sidestep Thucydides Trap.
The Chinese leader signaled that the world’s two biggest economies should work together to avoid economic disputes and build a new model for more stable relations among major countries.
China-US economic ties are mutually beneficial and win-win in nature, he said, adding, “Yesterday, our economic and trade teams produced generally balanced and positive outcomes. This is good news for the people of the two countries and the world.” President Trump arrived in Beijing last night on a two-day visit to China, the first for a US leader in nine years. He paid the previous visit to China in November 2017.
The agenda of the summit is expected to focus on the trade tariffs, the hi-tech competition and the war in Iran.
