Xi, Obama agree mutual interests eclipse disputes

US President Barack Obama said that his meeting with President Xi Jinping will help the two countries to "manage problems" and improve bilateral ties.

The remarks on Sept 5 came two days after the presidents met on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in the eastern city of Hangzhou.

Noting that it was his eighth meeting with Xi, Obama told reporters at the hotel where he was staying that China and the United States have agreed to increase cooperation in areas including climate change, peacekeeping, development and cybersecurity.

Obama expressed gratitude to Xi and the Chinese people for hosting the G20 summit in the "beautiful city" of Hangzhou.

The US president also said that compared with the situation after the economic crisis in 2008, the G20 members, including the US and other countries, have improved their economies.

Obama answered questions, including about his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, his upcoming visit to Laos and the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

China's Foreign Ministry says that when Xi met with Obama he urged that both sides follow the principles of nonconflict, nonconfrontation, mutual respect and win-win cooperation, that they deepen mutual trust, and that they manage and control their differences in a constructive manner.

Xi said China and the US have carried out fruitful cooperation under the G20 framework, and they have maintained close coordination and communication with regard to the preparation of the G20 Summit, according to the ministry.

Ni Jianping, a senior researcher at the Shanghai Institute of American Studies, says the meeting between Xi and Obama will have a positive effect on China-US cooperation in global governance.

The two countries' cooperation during the summit on climate change issues will be an important diplomatic legacy of the Obama administration, Ni says.

Xi and Obama jointly announced on Sept 3, the eve of the summit, that they had agreed to join the Paris agreement on climate change.

"President Xi has emphasized many times that the common interests of China and the US are far larger than their disputes," Obama said, adding that the two countries have made practical progress in areas including anti-terrorism, nonproliferation, anti-piracy and anti-tobacco.

anbaijie@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily European Weekly 09/09/2016 page15)