On April 13, 2013, President Xi Jinping met with visiting U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry at the Great Hall of the People.
Xi said China-U.S. relations are in a new historic period. Xi recalled his recent telephone discussion with U.S. President Barack Obama, saying they reaffirmed their commitment to developing China-U.S. cooperative partnership and finding a path for new-type major country relations and identified the strategic positioning and development direction of bilateral relations. Xi called on both countries to take a strategic and long-term view of China-U.S. relations, carry out dialogue and cooperation with a positive attitude and development perspective, deal with their differences in the spirit of mutual respect and seeking common ground while reserving differences and substantiate their partnership. "We should blaze a trail for a new type of relations between major powers that features equality, mutual trust, tolerance, mutual learning, cooperation and common prosperity," Xi said.
Xi highlighted the importance of high-level strategic communications, saying he would like to maintain contact with President Obama and calling for the two countries to make the best of China-U.S. strategic and economic dialogues and high-level consultations on people-to-people exchanges.
On the economic front, Xi said Sino-U.S. trade cooperation is mutually beneficial in nature. He called for more cooperation in new areas, tightening bonds of interest and positive measures that can address mutual concerns and discourage the politicization of economic issues.
Xi said the two countries have different views on some issues. The two countries should observe the three China-U.S. joint communiques, respect each other's core interests and development paths, properly tackle differences and protect overall relations from major intervention.
Xi stressed there is enough space on both sides of the vast Pacific Ocean to accommodate China and the United States. He urged the two countries to interact positively in the Asia-Pacific region, step up communication and coordination on regional and international issues and safeguard regional and world peace, stability and prosperity.
Kerry said that the world is undergoing significant changes. The United States will take a strategic, broad and long-term vision in make positioning for bilateral ties. Kerry said the United States would like to work with China to follow the requests of the presidents of both countries, increase high-level visits, deepen dialogue, mutual trust and cooperation and jointly tackle challenges so as to bring benefit to the two countries and peoples, safeguard world and regional peace and security and inject strong impetus for the two countries to build a new type of major country relations.
State Councilor Yang Jiechi and other officials attended the meeting.