Rejuvenation of China, MAGA can go hand in hand, host Xi tells Trump
The Chinese leader repeatedly stressed cooperation over confrontation, saying both countries stand to gain from cooperation and lose from confrontation.
Chinese President Xi Jinping struck an upbeat and conciliatory tone at a state banquet for US President Donald Trump on Thursday, saying the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and Trump’s Make America Great Again vision could go hand in hand as both countries seek a more stable relationship.
In a closely watched toast in Beijing, Xi described ties between the world’s two largest economies as the most important bilateral relationship in the world today and warned that both sides “must make it work and never mess it up.”
“The people of China and the United States are both great peoples,” Xi said. “Achieving the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and making America great again can go hand in hand. We can help each other succeed and advance the wellbeing of the whole world.”
Catch the latest updates on Xi-Trump meeting here.
The Chinese leader repeatedly stressed cooperation over confrontation, saying both countries stand to gain from cooperation and lose from confrontation.
“Our two countries should be partners rather than rivals,” Xi said, adding that mutual respect remained “key to whether the relationship can advance.”
"Both the countries can help each other succeed and advance the wellbeing of the whole world,” he told the room.
In addition to that, Xi also revealed that he and Trump had held in-depth exchanges on bilateral ties and global issues earlier in the day. “President Trump and I also agreed to build a constructive China-US relationship of strategic stability to promote the steady, sound and sustainable development of China-US relations."
Exchanging to the sweet note by Xi, Trump invited him over to a White House visit on September 24.
He said, "The relationship between the American and Chinese people goes back all the way back to America's founding. The first American consul to China, Samuel Shaw arrived on the first American trading ship to reach these shores in 1784...Two and a half centuries later, that first connection has grown into one of the most consequential relationships in world history."
Trump also mentioned during the address that the appreciation ran in both directions. He said that the Chinese admirers of President George Washington had gifted a stone tablet honouring his memory to adorn the Washington Monument. "It bears the words of a Chinese official who called the great General and Statesman, a hero among men."
Saying the two countries shared values of hard work, courage and achievement, Trump added: “The world is a special world with the two of us united and together.