Countries should handle points of friction constructively, president says

President Xi Jinping and US President Barack Obama meet in Washington on Thursday. Kevin Lamarque / Reuters

China and the United States should handle unresolved disputes in a constructive manner to avoid misunderstandings and escalation in conflicts, President Xi Jinping told US President Barack Obama on Thursday.

China will firmly safeguard its sovereignty and rights in the South China Sea and will not accept any activities excusing, in the name of free navigation, behavior that could harm its national sovereignty, Xi said.

"I would like to reiterate that to work together with the US side to establish a new-type relationship between big powers, achieve the goal of no conflict or confrontation, show respect for each other and cooperate for win-win results is the priority of China's foreign policy," he said.

The president made the remarks during a meeting with Obama on the sidelines of the 4th Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, which concludes on Friday.

The 90-minute meeting was the only bilateral meeting Obama arranged during the summit, which was attended by more than 50 heads of state and governments.

The two countries have carried out effective communication on issues including Iranian nuclear development, Syria, Afghanistan and peacekeeping, and that shows great potential for a new-type big power relationship, Xi said.

The global economy is experiencing a sluggish period, and no country in the world should stimulate exports by currency depreciation, he added.

China and the US should boost trust between their militaries, and they should make cybersecurity an area for cooperation, Xi said.

It had been a contentious issue in bilateral relations for years before Xi's state visit to the US in September, when the two leaders reached consensus on more effectively tackling the issue.

Xi also reiterated China's stance on Taiwan and called on the US to uphold the one-China policy and help to maintain peaceful development cross-Straits ties.

Obama praised the cooperation between the two countries on nuclear security, citing the example of China's new Nuclear Security Center of Excellence, a joint program between the two nations that opened in Beijing just before the nuclear summit.

"I believe we can deepen our cooperation, including against nuclear smuggling," he said.

Obama said he and Xi are both committed to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the full implementation of UN sanctions.

Assistant Foreign Minister Zheng Zeguang told reporters after the meeting that the presidents agreed to speed up negotiations on the China-US Bilateral Investment Treaty.

He added that Xi reaffirmed Beijing's stance opposing Pyongyang's development of nuclear weapons.

Jin Canrong, director of the Center for International Strategic Studies at Renmin University of China, said, "As competition between China and the US increases, meetings of the two presidents are playing a bigger role in stabilizing strategic ties, which need intense care."