President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart, Joe Biden, on Wednesday met at a summit in California, where they agreed to resume high-level military-to-military communication.
Xinhua News Agency quoted President Xi as saying that China is "consistently committed to a stable, healthy and sustainable relationship with the United States", while stressing that China had interests that must be safeguarded, principles that must be upheld, and red lines that must not be crossed.
The meeting began with Biden greeting Xi as he stepped out of a limousine at the scenic Filoli country estate near San Francisco, before they shared a quick handshake on the front steps.
Xi said China hoped both countries could be partners that respected each other and coexisted peacefully. And he said disagreements should not be a chasm that keeps the two countries apart, but both sides should build bridges and appreciate each other's principles and red lines.
It is also reported that they had agreed to set up a working group on counternarcotics cooperation and that they committed to working toward a significant increase in scheduled passenger flights early next year.
Xi and Biden had a candid and in-depth exchange of views on strategic and overarching issues critical to the direction of China-US relations and on major issues affecting world peace and development.
They also agreed to set up Sino-US talks on artificial intelligence.
During their meeting earlier on Wednesday, Xi said: "conflict and confrontation has unbearable consequences for both sides."
"For two large countries like China and United States, turning their back on each other is not an option," he said.
"Planet Earth is big enough for the two countries to succeed," he added.
In his remarks, Biden said that tensions should "not veer into conflict".
"We've known each other for a long time. We haven't always agreed, which is not a surprise to anyone, but our meetings have always been candid and straightforward and useful," he said.
"I think it's paramount that you and I understand each other clearly, leader to leader, but [with] no misconceptions or miscommunication. We have to ensure that competition does not veer into conflict."
(With inputs from agencies)
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