Xi Jinping urges US to work with China to preserve ‘global stability’ ahead of next round of trade war talks in Washington
- China’s president says ‘we all shoulder special responsibilities’ as months-old trade war disrupts global economic security
- Xi’s comments come with top negotiator Liu He set to head for Washington for the next round of talks
Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Monday that he wants the US to work with China to help stabilise and reduce uncertainty in global affairs, amid negotiations aimed at ending the countries’ months-long trade war.
“As big countries, our relationship with each other can have great impact on global strategic stability and we all shoulder special responsibilities [to the world],” Xi told a visiting delegation of The Elders – an international non-governmental organisation of prominent public figures – during a meeting in Beijing.
China is a “big developing country” but is willing to shoulder its share of international responsibilities, Xi was quoted as saying by China's state-owned Xinhua News Agency.
Yang Jiechi, a member of the Chinese politburo, and Foreign Minister Wang Yi joined Xi in meeting with a team of The Elders that included Mary Robinson, the former president of Ireland, Ban Ki-moon, the former UN Secretary-General and former Mexican president Ernesto Zedillo.
Xi’s comments at the Great Hall of the People came as his chief trade negotiator, Vice-Premier Liu He, prepared to travel to Washington this week for the latest round of talks aimed at bringing an end to the tariff battle between the world’s largest economies that has cast a long shadow across the global economy.