Spotlight: Xi raises six-point proposal for advancing ties in talks with Obama

Visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday put forward a six-pronged proposal for next-stage development of China-U.S. relations.

Xi made the suggestions in his talks with U.S. President Barack Obama at the White House, which culminated his four-day first state visit to the United States.

-- The two sides should maintain close exchanges and communication at all levels. Major bilateral mechanisms like the Strategic and Economic Dialogue and the High-Level Consultation on People-to-People Exchange should be brought into full play.

-- The two countries should expand and deepen practical cooperation in various fields, including economy, trade, military, anti-terrorism, law enforcement, energy, environment and infrastructure.

-- China and the United States should promote people-to-people exchange and consolidate the social basis for bilateral relations.

-- The two countries should respect their differences in history, culture, tradition and social system, as well as development path and development stage, and learn from each other.

-- The two sides should deepen dialogue and cooperation in Asia-Pacific affairs.

-- They should jointly deal with regional and global challenges, enrich the strategic connotations of their relations, and provide the international community with more public goods.

KEEPING BILATERAL TIES ON CORRECT TRACKP

The Chinese and the U.S. sides agreed to continue the endeavor to build a new model of major-country relationship between the two countries.

Noting that the China-U.S. relationship is one of the most important bilateral ties in the world, Xi pledged to push it forward along the right track.

Since the establishment of diplomatic ties 36 years ago, China-U.S. relations have forged ahead and achieved historic developments despite ups and downs.

Xi said since he and Obama reached consensus on building a new model of major-country relationship between their countries at the summit in Annenberg Estate in June, 2013, bilateral ties have kept making new progress, bringing abundant benefits to the people of the two nations and the world at large.

The president said China is ready to work with the United States to hold fast to principles of non-confrontation, mutual respect, and win-win cooperation, to constantly expand practical cooperation at bilateral, regional and global levels, to manage differences and sensitive issues in a constructive way, so as to push forward bilateral ties always along the right track.

Obama said the United States and China shared common interests on many issues and have made important progress in cooperation in many areas.

The U.S. side thanked China for its important role in such areas as Iran's nuclear issue, denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, and reconstruction in Afghanistan, Obama said, adding his country is willing to maintain close coordination with China in these respects.

The U.S. president called on the United States and China to also enhance cooperation in areas such as climate change, health care and in fight against smuggling of wild animals and plants.

MILITARY-TO-MILITARY TIES

Military-to-military relations are a vital component of the China-U.S. relationship, Xi stressed, calling on the two sides to maintain the momentum for military exchanges at high level.

He called on the two militaries to make better use of institutional dialogue and conduct more joint drills and training, saying China, at the invitation of the U.S. side, will attend the 2016 Rim of the Pacific multilateral naval drills and dispatch personnel to Seattle to participate in humanitarian aid and disaster relief rehearsal.

Pointing out that both China and the United States are permanent members of the UN Security Council, Xi said China and the United States bear special responsibilities of safeguarding world peace and security and share a wide range of common interests in the UN peacekeeping issue.

The two sides, Xi said, should continue to maintain exchanges and cooperation in peacekeeping affairs and make new contributions to promoting the UN peacekeeping cause and safeguarding international peace and security.

Xi said he hopes the U.S. side could observe its promises and does not support any moves that will harm China's unification and stability.

For his part, Obama said the U.S. side speaks highly of the progress made in confidence-building mechanisms between the two militaries and encouraged both sides to continue to enhance consultations and cooperation in areas such as disaster relief.

Obama also reiterated U.S. commitment to the One China Policy and the principles stated in the three U.S.-China joint communiques, saying that his country does not support the "independence" of Taiwan, Tibet and Xinjiang and will not interfere in Hong Kong affairs.

BIT NEGOTIATIONS, RMB'S SPECIAL DRAWING RIGHTS

China and the United States agreed to vigorously push forward negotiations and accelerate works for achieving a high-standard, mutually beneficial and win-win bilateral investment treaty (BIT).

The two sides also agreed to expand mutually beneficial cooperation in areas including energy, environmental protection, science and technology, aviation, infrastructure construction, agriculture and health.

They agreed to step up coordination in macroeconomic policy to jointly promote global economic growth and financial stability. To this end, the two countries have established a mechanism of regular phone conversations on economic affairs.

Both sides agreed to strengthen cooperation within G20, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other multilateral mechanisms.

The U.S. side supports including renminbi into the IMF special drawing rights, on the premise that it meets IMF's relative standards, and pledges to implement the IMF quota and a plan to reform governance structure adopted at the G20 Summit in 2010, at an early date.

COOPERATION IN OTHER FIELDS

China and the United States agreed to strengthen bilateral and multilateral cooperation in the fight against terrorism, expand communication and cooperation in areas such as anti-piracy, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief and international peace keeping.

They agreed to enhance cooperation in anti-corruption and law enforcement, to jointly fight against transnational corruption and crimes of various forms.

The two sides agreed to continue to deepen dialogue and cooperation on regional affairs, to build a bilateral relationship featuring positive interactions and inclusive cooperation in the Asia Pacific region, and to promote peace, stability and prosperity of the Asia Pacific along with other regional countries.

China and the Untied States agreed to continue cooperation in addressing global challenges including climate change, food security, health care system and emergency response and disaster relief in Africa and Asia, and the nuclear issues.

The two countries decided to designate 2016 as the China-U.S. Year of Tourism. China pledged to support a total of 50,000 Chinese and American students to study in each other's countries, and welcomes the U.S. move to provide opportunities to as many as 1 million American students to learn Chinese by 2020.

The Chinese and U.S. presidents also compared notes on such issues as the South China Sea, cyber security and human rights.

Before visiting the U.S. capital, Xi concluded a busy two-and-a-half-day stay in the West Coast technology and aviation hub of Seattle, where he put forward a four-point proposal on developing a new model of major-country relationship between China and the United States. Endi