Xi says US and China can only be rivals or partners, no middle ground

BEIJING — Chinese President Xi Jinping told U.S. trade officials in San Francisco late Wednesday that the United States and China must choose between being rivals or partners.

His comments contrast with the Biden administration’s approach of pursuing strategic competition with Beijing — restricting exports of advanced US technology to China while seeking areas of cooperation.

Xi was speaking at a dinner in San Francisco hours after his meeting with US President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.

“There is always a question in my mind: How to steer the huge ship of China-US relations away from the hidden rocks and turmoil without going astray, losing momentum or even colliding with the storms and waves How to navigate through it?” Xi said, according to an English-language readout of his Mandarin-language speech.

He said, “In this regard, the number one question for us is: Are we rivals, or partners? This is a fundamental and broader issue.”

Xi said, “The logic is quite simple. If one sees the other side as the primary competitor, the most consequential geopolitical challenger and the fastest-growing threat, this will only lead to ill-informed policy making, wrong actions and unintended consequences.” ”

“China is ready to be a partner and friend of the United States,” he said. “The fundamental principles we adhere to in handling China-US relations are mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation.”

Nearly 400 business leaders – including Apple CEO Tim Cook and Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon – Government officials, US citizens and academics attended the dinner hosted by the US-China Business Council and the National Committee on US-China Relations.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo delivered remarks before Xi’s address.

In a nearly 30-minute speech, Xi said China-led international initiatives such as the Belt and Road are open to US participation, while Beijing is ready to join multilateral cooperation initiatives proposed by the US.

“No matter how the global landscape evolves, the historical trend of peaceful coexistence between China and the United States will not change,” Xi said.

Regarding earlier talks with Biden, Xi said, “We agreed to make the cooperation list longer and the cooperation bigger.”

Xi said China is ready to invite 50,000 young Americans to study in the Asian country over the next five years.

He also said that China would send its giant pandas to the San Diego Zoo. He did not give any time.

Last week, the three pandas remaining in the US on loan from Beijing returned to China as their contracts expired. China has loaned the panda to countries around the world as a diplomatic tool.

Xi’s speech was titled “Inspiring our people to support China-US friendship as a strong force.”

“It is wrong to view China, which is committed to peaceful development, as a threat and thus play a zero-sum game against it,” Xi said. “China never bets against the United States, and never interferes in its internal affairs.”

He said, “China has no intention of challenging the United States or ousting it from power. Instead, we would be happy to see a confident, open, steadily growing, and prosperous United States.” “Similarly, the United States should not bet against China, or interfere in China’s internal affairs. It should instead welcome a peaceful, stable, and prosperous China.”

— CNBC’s Christina Wilkie and Eamon Javers contributed to this report.

Correction: The summary and key points have been updated to accurately reflect Xi’s dinner American business executives met in San Francisco on Wednesday night.