Remarks by President Obama Before Bilateral Meeting with President Xi of China

Great Hall of the People
Beijing, China

11:20 A.M. CST

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, Mr. President, it is a pleasure to be back in China. I congratulate you and the people of China for hosting a successful APEC Summit. I am grateful for your outstanding hospitality and the honor of this state visit.

This is the 35th anniversary of diplomatic ties between our two countries, as you noted. Since then, the trade and ties, the people-to-people exchanges between our countries have surged. And we’ve shown that when we cooperate, the United States and China can make important contributions to security and to progress in this region and around the world.

And this visit is an opportunity to continue discussions President Xi and I began in California last year and our meetings since. Yesterday evening and this morning we had the chance to discuss in depth our priorities and our vision for the U.S.-China relationship. As I’ve said before, I strongly believe that our two nations have an enormous stake in each other’s success. America’s presence in the Asia Pacific I believe has benefitted China. Conversely, a growing China has become one of our largest trading partners. As I said in my speech on Monday, the United States welcomes a China that is peaceful, prosperous and stable, and I look forward to continuing the discussion with President Xi on areas where our countries can work together even more.

As we’ve noted, there are important differences that we have, both practically as well as our vision for our respective countries and our conduct of foreign policy. But what I’ve been very encouraged by is your willingness, Mr. President, to engage in a honest and constructive dialogue around those differences and ensuring that we manage them in a peaceful and effective way.

So I want to thank you and the Chinese people for your extraordinary hospitality. I look forward to our discussions and to ensuring that the U.S.-China relationship continues to deliver results for China, for the United States, and for the world. Xiéxié.

END
11:23 A.M. CST