U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday expressed confidence in the bright future of U.S.-China relations when holding talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing.
In his opening remarks of the talks, Trump said, "You and I have known each other now for a long time, in fact, the longest relationship of our two countries that any president and president has had, and that's, to me, an honor. We've had a fantastic relationship. We've gotten along. When there were difficulties, we worked it out. I would call you and you would call me. And whenever we had a problem -- people don't know -- whenever we had a problem, we worked that out very quickly, and we're going to have a fantastic future together. Such respect for China, the job you've done. You're a great leader. I'd say it to everybody, you're a great leader."
"So I really look very much forward to our discussion. It's a big discussion. There are those that say this is maybe the biggest summit ever. They can never remember anything like it. I can say in the United States, people aren't talking about anything else. But it's an honor to be with you. It's an honor to be your friend. And the relationship between China and the USA is going to be better than ever before. Thank you very much. Thank you," he said.
At the invitation of Xi, Trump is on a state visit to China from Wednesday to Friday. This is the first U.S. presidential visit to China in almost nine years, after President Xi previously hosted Trump in Beijing in November 2017.
Prior to the talks, Xi held a welcome ceremony for Trump outside the Great Hall of the People.
Trump says US, China to have bright future in talks with Xi
China's Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao outlined the key priorities of the 32nd Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting, which opened on Friday in Suzhou, East China's Jiangsu province.
In an interview with CGTN ahead of the two-day meeting, Wang said free trade, digital cooperation and green economy are high on the agenda of the meeting.
"The key areas include advancing regional economic integration and the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific, supporting the World Trade Organization (WTO) in strengthening digital cooperation and developing green economy. At present, the international situation is marked by intertwined turbulence and chaos, with intensified geopolitical instability. The rise of unilateralism and protectionism poses serious challenges to the international economic and trade order, disrupting global and Asia-Pacific development. Against this backdrop, all parties have higher expectations for this trade ministers' meeting, hoping that it can build consensus and deliver outcomes," Wang said.
This year marks China's third time hosting the APEC meetings and the 35th anniversary of its membership.
By 2025, China had become the largest trading partner of 13 APEC economies. Trade between China and APEC economies reached 3.7 trillion U.S. dollars, accounting for 57.8 percent of China's total foreign trade.
China has signed 24 free trade agreements or economic and trade arrangements with 31 countries and regions, including 15 APEC economies. In recent years, China has also completed upgrades of free trade agreements with APEC economies such as Singapore and Peru.
The minister said that China has always been a firm supporter and an important contributor to APEC.
"We have actively shared our vast market and development opportunities with all parties. China's door to the world will only open wider and wider. Facing the common challenges, China will continue to fulfill its responsibilities as a major country, further deepen reform, expand high-standard opening-up, and continue to provide new opportunities for the Asia-Pacific region and the world with its new achievements in Chinese modernization," the minister said.
China's Commerce Minister outlines priorities for 32nd APEC trade ministers' meeting
