Beijing. Chinese President Xi Jinping expressed his eagerness to improve Sino-U.S. ties in his talks with a U.S. congressional delegation in Beijing on Monday as he called for bilateral cooperation to address global challenges such as climate change, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.
Xi said ties between China and the United States are “the most important bilateral relations in the world” and how they get along will determine the future and destiny of mankind, the ministry said.
In the meeting held at the Great Hall of the People in the capital, the Chinese president also said competition and confrontation are not in line with the trend of the times, stressing that their common interests far outweigh their differences, the ministry added.
The meeting between the Chinese leader and the six-member bipartisan Senate group led by Majority Leader Chuck Schumer took place as Beijing and Washington seek to arrange talks between their presidents in November.
The group has been visiting China since Saturday. It is the first trip to the Asian country by U.S. lawmakers in four years. Xi said China welcomes more members of the U.S. Congress to visit to better understand his country, the ministry said.
Schumer said the United States does not seek conflict with China nor to decouple from it, and it is willing to strengthen dialogue and communication and responsibly manage bilateral relations, it added.
