Xi tells Blinken US, China must be 'partners, not rivals': state media agency

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday told top US diplomat Antony Blinken that the world's two biggest economies should be "partners, not rivals", but that there were a "number of issues" to be resolved in their relations. Meeting Blinken in Beijing's Great Hall of the People, Xi said the two countries had "made some positive progress" since he met with US President Joe Biden last year, according to state broadcaster CCTV. "There are still a number of issues that need to be resolved, and there is still room for further efforts," Xi said. "I proposed three major principles: mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation," the Chinese leader added. "The earth is big enough to hold the common development and... prosperity of China and the United States," he continued. "China would be pleased to see a confident and open, prosperous and developing United States," Xi said. "We hope the US can also take a positive view of China's development," he added. "When this fundamental problem is solved... relations can truly stabilise, get better, and move forward." China's President Xi Jinping told Blinken that he hopes the United States will take a "positive view" of his country's development, state media reported. "We hope the US can also take a positive view of China's development," Xi said, according to state broadcaster CCTV, adding: "When this fundamental problem is solved... relations can truly stabilise, get better, and move forward". The Chinese president told the top US diplomat that the world's two biggest economies should be "partners, not rivals", adding that there were a "number of issues" to be resolved in their relations. The US secretary of state is on a three-day visit to China on the invitation of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin announced earlier this week that Secretary Blinken's visit is part of the efforts by China and the United States to implement the common understandings reached by the two presidents at their meeting in San Francisco, to maintain dialogue, manage differences, advance cooperation and strengthen coordination on international affairs. 'Negative factors building in US-China ties’ Earlier in the day, Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his US counterpart that the United States is suppressing China's development. As the pair settled into their opening session, Wang told Blinken that the "giant ship" of the China-US relationship had stabilised, "but negative factors in the relationship are still increasing and building". "And the relationship is facing all kinds of disruptions. China's legitimate development rights have been unreasonably suppressed and our core interests are facing challenges," he said. Blinken replied that "active diplomacy" was needed to move forward with the agenda set by President Joe Biden and President Xi Jinping when they met in San Francisco in November. "There's no substitute in our judgement for face-to-face diplomacy," Blinken said, adding that he wanted to ensure that "we're as clear as possible about the areas where we have differences, at the very least to avoid misunderstandings, to avoid miscalculations". Blinken and Wang met in a guesthouse which is part of a sprawling complex of villas, lakes and gardens where many foreign dignitaries, including the then-US President Richard Nixon, have been received. US State Department officials signalled ahead of the sessions that China's support for Russia would feature strongly, saying that Washington is prepared to act against Chinese companies that have been helping retool and resupply Russia's defence industry.

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