Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday held a banquet at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing to welcome U.S. President Donald Trump on his state visit to China.
The two heads of state delivered speeches at the welcoming banquet.
This year is the starting year of China's 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030), and building on the profound foundation of the over 5,000 years of Chinese civilization, the over 1.4 billion Chinese people are advancing Chinese modernization on all fronts through high-quality development, said Xi in his speech, noting that this year also marks the 250th anniversary of independence of the United States, and more than 300 million American people are reviving the spirit of patriotism, innovation and pioneering, promoting development of the United States on a new journey.
Both the Chinese and American peoples are great peoples, and achieving the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and making America great again can progress simultaneously, bring mutual success, and benefit the world, said Xi.
Xi said he and Trump agreed that the China-U.S. relationship is the most important bilateral relationship in the current world, and the two sides must make it work and never mess it up.
Both China and the United States stand to gain from cooperation and lose from confrontation, and the two countries should be partners rather than rivals, Xi added.
Xi also said that the two sides agreed to build a constructive China-U.S. relationship of strategic stability to promote the steady, sound, and sustainable development of China-U.S. relations, and bring more peace, prosperity and progress to the world.
Looking back at the course of China-U.S. relations, whether or not the two countries could have mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation is the key to whether the relationship can advance steadily, Xi said.
Noting that China-U.S. relations concern the well-being of the over 1.7 billion people of both countries and affect the interests of the over 8 billion people of the world, Xi said both sides should rise up to this historical responsibility and steer the giant ship of China-U.S. relations forward steadily and in the right direction.
Trump thanked President Xi for graciously hosting the U.S. side on the state visit, noting the two sides had positive and constructive conversations.
The U.S. and Chinese people enjoy mutual appreciation, mutual respect and a long history of friendship, and the U.S.-China relationship is the most consequential bilateral relationship in the world, said Trump, calling on the two countries to strengthen cooperation and create a better future for the world.
Xi holds welcome banquet for Trump
