Trump's China visit to strengthen cooperation: officials

Chinese President Xi Jinping (L) and U.S. President Donald Trump [Photo: CGTN]

U.S. President Donald Trump will pay a state visit to China from today to Friday, the first head of state to visit the country since the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. 

Officials have said the meeting between President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing will be significant not only for China and US relations, but also for the Asia-Pacific region and the world as a whole.

CRI's Li Yi has more:

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying says China seeks peaceful and friendly coexistence with the United States on the world stage:

"President Xi Jinping said in his report to the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) that China aims to foster a new type of international relations, featuring mutual respect, fairness and justice and win-win cooperation and build a community of shared future for mankind. China appeals to all countries to take a new approach to developing state-to-state relations with communication, not confrontation, and with partnership, not alliance."

Hua adds that China and the United States shoulder special and important responsibilities in maintaining world peace and stability and promoting global growth and prosperity:

"China will work with the United States and implement consensus reached by the two leaders, respect each other, achieve reciprocity and mutual benefit, focus on cooperation and manage differences so as to ensure a long-term healthy and steady development of bilateral ties. This, I think, serves not only the fundamental interests of the two peoples, but also the common expectations of all the countries and the international community."

Trump's state visit to China will be his third official meeting with President Xi. The two leaders have maintained close and frequent communications this year, including the Mar-a-Lago resort meeting in April and a meeting in Hamburg in July, as well as multiple phone calls and exchanges of letters.

Meantime, China-U.S. economic and trade cooperation has expanded steadily and generated huge benefits for people on both sides. 

In the first three quarters of the year, bilateral trade increased 13.7 percent year on year to over 420 billion U.S. dollars. China's exports to the United States grew 11.5 percent, but is outpaced by a nearly-20-percent expansion in imports from the latter.

Terry Branstad, U.S. Ambassador to China, says that besides the issue of trade, concerns over the Korean Peninsula issue are likely to occupy the top of President Trump's agenda for his visit to China. 

"And the president really appreciates the collaboration and support that he has received from China in addressing the threat from North Korea. We are enforcing those sanctions but I think we need to do even more. And it's going to take the leadership of the United States and China working together and leading the other countries in the world to prevent the threat from North Korea."

Following his meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in in Seoul, President Trump has said he does not wish to use force against North Korea, urging the Asian country to return to the dialogue table and make a deal benefiting both Pyongyang and the entire world. 

The U.S. Ambassador also revealed that the US first couple might do some sight-seeing in Beijing:

"I know those will be at the top of his agenda, but I also know the president really looks forward to getting to meet the people here in China and some of the significant [sites], and this is a country with a long and proud history and he wants to [visit] and I think he is going to get the opportunity to go to the Forbidden City and I think the First Lady is also going to visit a school, and go to some of the sights, possibly the Great Wall. So it's going to be a busy schedule for the president and for his family and for the other American leaders who will come with him."

China's Foreign Ministry disclosed a few days ago that apart from the whole array of official activities, China will arrange small-scaled and unofficial interactions between the two heads of states to allow them enough time to conduct the top-level strategic communication and dialogue and provide the U.S. side with more opportunities to know Chinese history and culture. 

China is the third stop of Trump's five-nation Asian tour. He has already visited Japan and South Korea. Trump will also attend the APEC summit in Vietnam and the East Asia summit in the Philippines.

For CRI, I'm Li Yi