China, US should be partners, not rivals, says Xi ahead of talks with Trump

China and the US should be partners, not rivals, Chinese President Xi Jinping asserted upon his arrival in Washington on Wednesday, and voiced confidence that the two can find a right way to get along in the new era.

China and the US are both great countries, and the two peoples are both great peoples, Xi said in written speech, state run Xinhua news agency quoted him as saying.

In a rare gesture, US President Donald Trump and his wife, Melania Trump, greeted Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, when they landed at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Wednesday.

Xi noted that he and Trump had agreed to build a China-US relationship of strategic stability during Trump's visit to China in May, which has provided guidance for the future development of bilateral ties.

China and the US should work in the same direction, promote a stable relationship featuring cooperation as the mainstay, moderate competition, manageable differences, and promises of peace, Xi said.

He said that the US and Chinese