Redefining relations

President Xi Jinping and US President Barack Obama meet the media after their talk at Sunnylands in Rancho Mirage, California, on Friday. Lan Hongguang / Xinhua

China and the United States will increase comprehensive exchanges, as the countries commit to building a new type of power relationship, the presidents of the world's two largest economies said on Friday.

After the first meeting of their two-day summit, President Xi Jinping and US counterpart, Barack Obama, stressed the importance of the countries' ties in a globalized economy.

"I am confident of building a new type of relationship, as long as we are committed to it," Xi said at the Walter and Leonore Annenberg Estate at Sunnylands, California.

Xi said China and the US should show mutual respect and enhance cooperation so people in both countries benefit. China is determined to adhere to peaceful development and deepen reforms to achieve the "Chinese dream", he said.

Xi said the purpose of his summit with Obama is to draw a blueprint for China-US relations and develop "trans-Pacific cooperation".

"The vast Pacific Ocean has enough space to accommodate the two big nations of China and the US," Xi said before the meeting.

"I said this during my trip to the US last year, and I still think so."

He stressed that China and the US, under new circumstances, should thoroughly review their ties.

"What kind of a relationship do we need?" he asked. "What type of cooperation should China and the United States have to achieve win-win results? How can both countries work together to promote peace and development in the world?"

"These are the issues not just cared about by the people of our two countries, but the whole international community," Xi said.

He said Obama and himself believed that as economic globalization develops rapidly and all countries need to sail in the same boat when faced with difficulties, China and the United States should find a new type of relationship between major countries that is different from the past one featuring inevitable confrontation and conflicts.