Biden told that for China and US, one country’s success is an opportunity for the other
President Xi Jinping holds a summit with US President Joe Biden at the Filoli Estate, a country house approximately 40 kilometers south of San Francisco, California, on Nov 16, 2023. (FENG YONGBIN / CHINA DAILY)
President Xi Jinping stressed his firm belief in a promising future of China-US relations on Nov 15, 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.
It is an objective fact that China and the United States are different in history, culture, social system, and development path, Xi said in his opening remarks during a summit with US President Joe Biden at Filoli Estate, a country house approximately 40 kilometers south of San Francisco, California.
“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.
“However as long as they respect each other, coexist in peace, and pursue win-win cooperation, they will be fully capable of rising above differences and find the right way for the two major countries to get along with each other,” Xi said, expressing his firm belief in a promising future of the bilateral relationship.
Xi noted that much has happened since their last meeting in Bali, Indonesia, last November. 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.
President Xi Jinping meets with US President Joe Biden at Filoli Estate in the US state of California on Nov 15, 2023. (Feng Yongbin / China Daily)
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 noted.
Xi urged the US to take real actions to honor its commitment of not supporting “Taiwan independence”, and stop arming Taiwan. “China will realize reunification, and this is unstoppable,” he told Biden.
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 major issues affecting world peace and development.
For his part, Biden said he values his conversation with Xi because he thinks it is paramount that the two leaders understand each other clearly, adding that they have to ensure that competition does not veer into conflict and have to manage competition responsibly.
The critical global challenges the two countries face, from climate change to counter-narcotics to artificial intelligence, demand joint efforts from both sides, Biden said.
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.
When Xi arrived at San Francisco International Airport on Nov 14, he was warmly welcomed by US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, California Governor Gavin Newsom, and other US representatives.
As the Chinese president’s motorcade left the airport for the hotel, many overseas Chinese and Chinese students were waiting along the streets, waving flags of both China and the US to welcome his arrival.
