China and the US should handle “sensitive issues” in their bilateral ties properly, Chinese President Xi Jinping today told visiting Secretary of State Rex Tillerson as he called cooperation the “only correct choice” for providing a “new start” to their relations.
Xi’s assertion came amidst a number of contentious issues in Sino-US relations, including the South China Sea, the status of Taiwan, trade as well as the North Korean missile and nuclear threats.
“We should properly handle and manage sensitive issues to promote the healthy and stable development of sino-US relationship from a new start,” Xi told Tillerson here.
Cooperation is the “only correct” choice for both the countries, Xi said apparently referring to anti-China rhetoric by US President Donald Trump.
Trump had branded China a currency manipulator stealing American jobs and also threatened to impose 45 per cent tariffs on Chinese goods.
In his meeting with Tillerson on Sunday, Xi said the two sides should grasp the general direction for the development of China-US relations in an attitude responsible for history and future generations.
He suggested that the two countries increase strategic trust and mutual understanding, review bilateral ties from long-term and strategic perspectives and expand fields of cooperation for win-win outcomes, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.