President Xi Jinping and US President Barack Obama meet the media after their talk at Sunnylands in Rancho Mirage, California, on Friday. Lan Hongguang / Xinhua

The Sunnylands estate just outside Palm Springs, California, is the venue of the summit. Xinhua

President Xi Jinping says summit's aim is to draw blueprint for closer, stronger China-US ties

China and the United States will increase comprehensive exchanges, as the countries commit to building a new type of power relationship, the presidents of the world's two largest economies said on Friday.

After the first meeting of their two-day summit, President Xi Jinping and US counterpart, Barack Obama, stressed the importance of the countries' ties in a globalized economy.

"I am confident of building a new type of relationship, as long as we are committed to it," Xi said at the Walter and Leonore Annenberg Estate at Sunnylands, California.

Xi said China and the US should show mutual respect and enhance cooperation so people in both countries benefit. China is determined to adhere to peaceful development and deepen reforms to achieve the "Chinese dream", he said.

Xi said the purpose of his summit with Obama is to draw a blueprint for China-US relations and develop "trans-Pacific cooperation".

"The vast Pacific Ocean has enough space to accommodate the two big nations of China and the US," Xi said before the meeting.

"I said this during my trip to the US last year, and I still think so."

He stressed that China and the US, under new circumstances, should thoroughly review their ties.

"What kind of a relationship do we need?" he asked. "What type of cooperation should China and the United States have to achieve win-win results? How can both countries work together to promote peace and development in the world?"

"These are the issues not just cared about by the people of our two countries, but the whole international community," Xi said.

He said Obama and himself believed that as economic globalization develops rapidly and all countries need to sail in the same boat when faced with difficulties, China and the United States should find a new type of relationship between major countries that is different from the past one featuring inevitable confrontation and conflicts.

Both sides agreed to expand all levels of dialogues and communications and keep increasing mutual understanding and trust, Xi said. "I look forward to maintaining close exchanges with Obama through mutual visits, bilateral meetings, exchanges of phone calls and letters."

"I invite Obama to come to China at a proper time for a similar meeting like this and we will make an exchange visit as early as possible," Xi said.

The two sides will closely cooperate to ensure positive outcomes at a new round of the strategic and economic dialogue, people-to-people exchanges and high-level consultations between China and the United States, the Chinese president said.

The Chinese ministers for National Defense and Foreign Affairs will also visit the United States at invitations.

Obama said he wanted to reiterate that the US welcomes the continuing peaceful rise of China as a world power.

"Our decision to meet so early signifies the importance of the US-China relationship," he said.

"It is in the US' interest that China continues on the path of success" and that the two countries work together, he said, before adding: "Inevitably, there are areas of tension between our countries."

Ma Zhengang, deputy president of the China Public Diplomacy Association and former Chinese ambassador to Britain, said it is encouraging to see both sides strengthen their consensus of building a new type of power relationship.

"Neither China nor the US wants confrontation," Ma said. "It's especially notable that they pledged to improve military ties, the most sensitive issue that have occasionally strained relations."

Douglas Paal, vice-president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, described the summit as the first for more than 40 years in which the leaders of two very different powers have sat down for a "blue sky" discussion.

"History has proved the importance of that dialogue for the principles and concepts governing Chinese and American cooperation and competition," he said.

Yang Jiemian, president of the Shanghai Institute for International Studies, said communication is very important. "If we cannot understand each other, it can cause problems," he said.

Contact the writer at zhuzhe@chinadaily.com.cn

Zhao Shengnan, Zhang Chunyan, Du Juan and Xinhua contributed to this story.

(China Daily 06/09/2013 page1)