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 U.S. President Joe Biden at Filoli Estate, a country house approximately 40 km south of San Francisco, California.

 

"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.

 

Noting that a year has passed since their last meeting in Bali, Indonesia, and a lot has happened since then, Xi said the world has emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic, but is still under its tremendous impacts.

 

"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. All these are grave problems," Xi said.

 

The China-U.S. 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, he said. "It should develop in a way that benefits our two peoples and fulfills our responsibility for human progress."

 

The Chinese president pointed out that the China-U.S. relationship has never been smooth sailing over the past 50 years and more, and that it always faces problems of one kind or another. Yet it has kept moving forward amid twists and turns.

 

"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," 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 noted.

 

The Chinese president also noted that being at the helm of China-U.S. relations, he and President Biden shoulder heavy responsibilities for the two peoples, for the world and for history.

 

Xi looks forward to having an in-depth exchange of views and reaching new understandings with President Biden on strategic and overarching issues critical to the direction of China-U.S. relations and on 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 counternarcotics to artificial intelligence, demand joint efforts from both sides, Biden said.