The Chinese president, Xi Jinping, has defended upon his arrival in the United States the importance of Washington and Beijing maintaining a link based on cooperation and dialogue, moments before his meeting with the American president, Donald Trump.
In a written statement released after landing at Andrews Air Force Base and reported by the Xinhua agency, Xi emphasized that both powers must behave "as partners and not as adversaries," and asserted that the national goals of the two countries do not have to conflict.
The Chinese leader also recalled the understanding reached during Trump's visit to China in May to advance towards a more "constructive and strategically stable" relationship. In this regard, he urged both parties to redouble efforts to strengthen a framework in which cooperation is a priority and, at the same time, discrepancies can be channeled.
Furthermore, Xi indicated that he hopes to maintain with Trump a "deep dialogue" on bilateral ties and major international issues, as well as to expand areas of collaboration between both countries. He also expressed his intention to meet with representatives from various sectors of American society.
The visit, which will last until Friday, includes a meeting with Trump at the White House on Thursday and a State Dinner in which both presidents are expected to speak.
The meeting between Xi and Trump, announced on July 23 by the president of the United States, takes place more than a decade after the last visit of the head of state of the Asian giant to the White House and will be the second face-to-face meeting they have this year, following their May meeting in Beijing, a summit that concluded with the mutual commitment to advance towards "a constructive relationship of strategic stability."
Trump stated in July that Xi would make a visit to Washington on September 24, after the American Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, and the Chinese Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, discussed on the sidelines of a summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the Philippines about the need to locate areas of cooperation to lay the groundwork for a "very positive visit."