Upcoming Xi-Obama meeting aims to narrow gaps, expand cooperation: US official

WASHINGTON - The upcoming meeting between Chinese and US leaders will focus on narrowing and managing differences, and expanding practical cooperation between the two countries, a US official said Tuesday.

US President Barack Obama will have an "extended" bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping ahead of the G20 summit in China, Daniel Kritenbrink, senior director for Asian affairs at the US National Security Council, told a press briefing in Washington.

Obama will make clear as he has in the past that the United States welcomes a rising China that is peaceful, stable and prosperous, and is a responsible player in global affairs, Kritenbrink said.

The US president will also make clear that when China invests itself in resolving regional problems, the United States and the world will benefit, the official said.

Kritenbrink recalled the previous engagements between the two presidents, including their first informal summit held at the Sunnylands estate in California in 2013, Obama's state visit to Beijing in 2014 and Xi's state visit to the United States in September last year.

"The high frequency of leaders-level engagement with Chinese counterparts has been a deliberate part of our strategy for building a more constructive and productive relationship with China," Kritenbrink said.

The 11th G20 summit is to be held in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou on Sept 4-5, under the theme of "Toward an Innovative, Invigorated, Interconnected and Inclusive World Economy."