Xi states U.S. and China can just be foes or partners

BEIJING– The U.S. and China need to select in between being foes or partners, Chinese President Xi Jinping informed American organization executives late Wednesday in San Francisco.

His remarks contrast with the Biden administration’s method of pursuing tactical competitors with Beijing– limiting exports of innovative U.S. tech to China, while searching for locations of cooperation.

Xi was speaking at a supper in San Francisco following his conference with U.S. President Joe Biden a couple of hours previously, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference.

“I have always had one question on my mind: How to steer the giant ship of China-U.S. relations clear of hidden rocks and shoals, navigate it through storms and waves without getting disoriented, losing speed or even having a collision?” Xi stated, according to an English- language readout of his Mandarin- language speech.

“In this respect, the number one question for us is: are we adversaries, or partners? This is the fundamental and overarching issue,” he stated.

“The logic is quite simple. If one sees the other side as a primary competitor, the most consequential geopolitical challenge and a pacing threat, it will only lead to misinformed policy making, misguided actions, and unwanted results,” Xi stated.

“China is ready to be a partner and friend of the United States,” he stated. “The fundamental principles that we follow in handling China-U.S. relations are mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation.”

Nearly 400 magnate– consisting of Apple CEO Tim Cook and Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon– federal government authorities, U.S. residents and academics participated in the supper, hosted by the U.S.-China Business Council and the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations.

U.S Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo provided remarks ahead of Xi’s address.

In an approximately 30- minute speech, Xi stated China- led global efforts such as the Belt and Road are open to U.S. involvement, while Beijing is all set to sign up with U.S.-proposed multilateral cooperation efforts.

“No matter how the global landscape evolves, the historical trend of peaceful coexistence between China and the United States will not change,” Xi stated.

Regarding earlier discussions with Biden, Xi stated “we agreed to make the cooperation list longer and the pie of cooperation bigger.”

Xi stated China is all set to welcome 50,000 young Americans to study in the Asian nation over the next 5 years.

He likewise stated China would send its huge pandas to the San DiegoZoo He did not define a time.

Last week, the staying 3 pandas in the U.S. on loan from Beijing went back to China due to an ending agreement. China has actually provided pandas to nations around the globe as a diplomatic tool.

Xi’s speech was entitled “Galvanizing Our Peoples into a Strong Force For the Cause of China-U.S. Friendship.”

“It is wrong to view China, which is committed to peaceful development, as a threat and thus play a zero-sum game against it,” Xi stated. “China never bets against the United States, and never interferes in its internal affairs.”

“China has no intention to challenge the United States or to unseat it. Instead, we will be glad to see a confident, open, ever-growing and prosperous United States,” he stated. “Likewise, the United States should not bet against China, or interfere in China’s internal affairs. It should instead welcome a peaceful, stable and prosperous China.”

— CNBC’s Christina Wilkie and Eamon Javers added to this report.

Correction: The summary and bottom lines have actually been upgraded to properly show that Xi’s supper with U.S. organization executives occurred on Wednesday night in San Francisco.