China and the United States should be partners rather than rivals, Chinese President Xi Jinping said in a written speech upon his arrival in Washington on Wednesday for a three-day state visit, as the world's two largest economies moved to extend a trade truce.
"Our two countries should be partners rather than rivals," Xi said in remarks published by China's state news agency Xinhua, adding that the Chinese and American peoples "have enjoyed long-standing friendly exchanges" and that their interests "are deeply intertwined".
He said the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and the American goal of making the country great again "can go hand in hand, complement each other and benefit the world".
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Xi's comments came hours after he was given a rare airport welcome by Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, an unusual gesture underscoring how far the American president was prepared to go to court his Chinese counterpart. Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, arrived for their first state visit to the US in nearly three years.
In his speech, Xi noted that he and Trump had agreed to build a "constructive" China-US relationship of strategic stability during Trump's visit to Beijing in May, calling it guidance for future bilateral ties.
He said the two countries should work in the same direction and promote a relationship "featuring cooperation as the mainstay, moderate competition, manageable differences", voicing confidence that the two nations could "find a right way to get along in the new era".
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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said separately that Washington and Beijing had agreed to extend their 11-month trade truce, under which both sides scaled back tariffs and refrained from fresh trade restrictions, through 10 January, having been due to expire on 10 November.
The extension follows a 2025 tariff war that saw triple-digit levies imposed by both countries.
Despite the diplomatic overtures, deep differences remain between the two powers over trade, technology, Taiwan and the Iran conflict.
The trip is due to continue with a formal state dinner at the White House on Thursday, expected to draw technology executives including Apple's Tim Cook, Nvidia's Jensen Huang and OpenAI's Sam Altman, followed by further engagements through Friday.
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