British News Agency

Chinese President Xi Jinping hosted a welcome dinner this evening in Beijing in honor of U.S. President Donald Trump, who is visiting China.

The welcome dinner was held in the Golden Hall of the Great Hall of the People. Xi Jinping and Donald Trump delivered speeches in turn.

In his speech, Xi Jinping recalled that this year marks the beginning of China’s “15th Five-Year Plan” period. He pointed out that more than 1.4 billion Chinese people, building upon the solid foundations of more than 5,000 years of Chinese civilization, are comprehensively advancing Chinese-style modernization through high-quality development. Xi also noted that this year marks the 250th anniversary of the independence of the United States, and stated that more than 300 million Americans continue to lead their country on a new journey by revitalizing patriotism, innovation, and a pioneering spirit. Pointing out that both the Chinese and American peoples are great peoples, Xi said, “Achieving the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and making America great again are not contradictory; on the contrary, they can support each other and benefit the world.”

Xi Jinping stated that the “Ping Pong Diplomacy” between China and the United States 55 years ago opened the door to ending more than 20 years of frozen relations between the two countries and became an important event in the history of contemporary international relations. Xi noted that since then, many stories of cooperation between the two countries have continued to write beautiful pages of friendship. Xi said, “Under the new circumstances, I have held numerous face-to-face meetings and phone conversations with President Trump to preserve the overall stability of China-U.S. relations. Both of us agree that China-U.S. relations are the most important bilateral relationship in today’s world and that this relationship should be managed well and never allowed to deteriorate. If the two countries cooperate, both will benefit; if they clash, both will suffer. The two countries should be partners, not rivals. We have agreed to build constructive, strategic, and stable relations between our countries in order to promote the stable, healthy, and sustainable development of bilateral relations and bring more peace, prosperity, and progress to the world.”

Xi Jinping said, “When we consider the course of China-U.S. relations, we can understand that mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, cooperation, and mutual benefit are the key to whether this relationship can progress steadily.” Xi emphasized that China-U.S. relations concern the well-being of more than 1.7 billion people in the two countries as well as the interests of more than 8 billion people around the world, adding that both sides should shoulder this great historical responsibility together and steadily steer the ship of China-U.S. relations on the right course.

In his speech, Trump expressed his sincere thanks to Xi for the warm hospitality shown to him. Stating that today had been a wonderful day and that his visit was important, Trump recalled that the two sides had engaged in constructive and positive dialogue. Stressing that the peoples of the United States and China admire and respect each other and share a deep-rooted friendship, Trump said that U.S.-China relations are the world’s most important bilateral relationship and that the two countries should strengthen cooperation in order to create a better future for the world.