US and Chinese Development Goals Can Reinforce Each Other, Xi Says

Dragon Media News Desk

Chinese President Xi Jinping said the United States and China could pursue their respective development goals in ways that support each other. Speaking at a state dinner hosted by US President Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday, he called on both countries to act as responsible major powers.

Xi described Trump’s goal of making America great again and China’s goal of national rejuvenation as ambitious. He said they could be mutually reinforcing and urged the two countries to meet their peoples’ expectations while finding a new way to manage their relationship.

Xi recalled that he and Trump had agreed during the US president’s visit to China in May to develop what they called a constructive relationship of strategic stability. Trump had invited him to visit the United States at the time, he said. The reciprocal state visits took place within six months. Xi said their talks on Thursday had produced a common understanding on many issues, although he did not detail those understandings in his dinner remarks.

Looking back at bilateral ties, Xi cited more than two centuries of trade, cooperation during the Second World War and the role of Ping-Pong Diplomacy in normalising relations. He also recounted how an American had supported a Chinese woman’s tree-planting efforts to combat desertification, presenting the story as an example of the value of people-to-people ties.

As China celebrated the Mid-Autumn Festival, Xi offered holiday greetings to Americans who support China–US relations. He ended his remarks with a toast to the health of President and Mrs. Trump, the progress of both countries and friendship between their peoples.