奥巴马欢迎中国的和平崛起

Xi Jinping has told Obama that it is vital that Beijing and Washington to maintain a strong relationship.

"The main purpose of my visit is to implement the important agreement you had reached with President Hu Jintao and to do some work to move forward the China-U.S. relationship along in the right direction, set by you and President Hu -- that is for our two countries to work together to build a cooperative partnership based on mutual respect and mutual interests."

In response, Obama says the United States welcomes China's peaceful rise.

"Throughout this process, I have always emphasized that we welcome China's peaceful rise, that we believe that a strong and prosperous China is one that can help to bring stability and prosperity to the region and to the world, and we expect to be able to continue on the cooperative track that we've tried to establish over the last three years."

Obama also says the US side is willing to work with China in world affairs, including the nuclear situations in both Iran and the Korean Peninsula.

"And we expect that China will continue to take a growing role in world affairs.　And we believe that it is critically important that the United States and China develop a strong working relationship to help to bring stability, order, and security that ultimately provides a better life for both the people of the United States and the people of China."

Meanwhile, as part of a meeting with his US counterpart Joe Biden, Xi Jinping says China is willing to continue working to try to ease the tensions in Syria.

The Chinese vice president has told Biden that China's position on Syria is aimed at safeguarding peace and stability in the Middle East and is in line with international principles.

Xi Jinping is set to visit the state of Iowa and Los Angeles following his stay in Washington.

For CRI, I'm Su Yi.