China, US must 'never mess' bilateral ties, Xi tells Trump at Beijing summit

China’s President Xi Jinping said Thursday that Washington and Beijing must “never mess” bilateral ties, stressing partnership over rivalry.

“Achieving the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, and making America great again, can go hand in hand,” Xi said, addressing Trump and the US delegation during a state banquet at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. “We can help each other succeed and advance the well-being of the whole world.”

"We both believe that the China-US relationship is the most important bilateral relationship in the world. We must make it work and never mess it up," Xi noted.

Trump is on a three-day state visit to China, the first by any sitting US president in nine years.

Xi and Trump held a bilateral summit early in the day, described as a “good meeting” by the White House.

While Xi did not mention Taiwan in his banquet address, he generally uses “great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation” to indicate the “unification of Taiwan” with the mainland.

“Under the new situation, President Trump and I, are fully aware of the expectations of our two nations and the international community, (we) have had multiple meetings and phone calls and kept (the) China-US relations generally stable,” said Xi.

Describing Trump’s visit as “historic,” the Chinese leader said: “Both China and the United States stand to gain from cooperation and lose from confrontation, our two countries should be partners rather than rivals.”

Noting that the world “today is changing and turbulent,” Xi said the China-US relations concern and affect “the interests of the over 8 billion people of the world.”

“Both sides should rise up to this historic responsibility and steer the giant ship of China-US relations forward steadily and in the right direction,” he added.

The Chinese leader said Trump “agreed” to build a “constructive China-US relationship of strategic stability” for “steady, sound and sustainable development” of bilateral ties to “bring more peace, prosperity, and progress to the world.”

Xi and Trump are scheduled to meet again on Friday for a Chinese tea ceremony, as well as a working lunch, before Air Force One carries the US president back home.

Trump is accompanied by top US diplomat Marco Rubio, as well as Defense Chief Pete Hegseth, a rare occurrence for a Pentagon chief.

Pete and his Chinese counterpart Dong Jun were seen chatting at the Great Hall before Xi and Trump entered the room for meals.