Beijing and Washington must read each other's strategic intentions correctly, and have "less estrangement and suspicion in order to forestall misunderstanding and miscalculation", Chinese President Xi Jinping said Tuesday night in his first major policy speech on China-U.S. ties since he arrived in the U.S. early Tuesday. [Special coverage]
Xi called for more understanding and trust between the U.S. and China, prior to his formal talks with President Barack Obama at the White House on Friday.
Xi also said "China is ready to set up a high-level joint-dialogue mechanism with the United States on fighting cybercrimes," saying that the Chinese government was a staunch defender of cybersecurity while also being a victim of hacking.
Xi made his remarks in a 40-minute speech, the only public speech during his U.S. visit, at a dinner attended by more than 750 business leaders and other dignitaries, including former secretary of State Henry Kissinger. It was sponsored by the National Committee on United States-China Relations and the U.S.-China Business Council.aXi said the world's two largest economies "should strictly base our judgment on fact, lest we become victims to hearsay, paranoid, or self-imposed bias".
"There is no such thing as the so-called 'Thucydides' trap' in the world, but should major countries time and again make the mistakes of strategic miscalculation, they might create such traps for themselves," he said.
In addition to cybersecurity, Xi raised other issues of concern to some in the U.S. audience, including China's stock market and investment.
Xi said that the government took the necessary steps to stabilize the stock market after recent turbulence triggered wide concern
"It is the duty of the government to ensure an open, fair, and just market order and prevent massive panic from happening. This time, the Chinese government took steps to stabilize the market and contain panic in the stock market and thus avoided a systemic risk," he said.
China's central bank took measures in August to adjust its currency exchange rate according to market supply and demand, which the president said has achieved "initial success" in correcting the currency rate deviation.
"Given the economic and financial situation at home and abroad, there is no basis for continuous depreciation of the RMB," he said.
Xi also reiterated China's opposition to cyber theft, amid high tensions between the two countries because the U.S. has blamed several cyber attacks on China recently.
"China is a strong defender of cybersecurity. It is also a victim of hacking," Xi said. "The Chinese government will not, in whatever form, engage in commercial thefts or encourage or support such attempts by anyone. Both commercial cyber theft and hacking against government networks are crimes that must be punished in accordance with the law and relevant international treaties.
Xi said that the international community should work together to build a peaceful, secure, open and cooperative cyberspace.
Xi shared the story of his arduous and starving youth in a remote village to illustrate what a Chinese dream means for ordinary Chinese people.
Xi arrived at Seattle early Tuesday morning with his celebrity singer wife Peng Liyuan, and was warmly welcomed by Washington state business leaders and officials.
Mark Fields, chair of the U.S.-China Business Council and also CEO of the Ford Motor Co, also addressed the banquet. He said "success in leading the global challenges of today and in the years ahead depend greatly on how our two countries come together, in support of common goals and also in soothing our differences".
U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker said that while this week many significant deals will be announced during Xi's visit, it exemplifies U.S. companies' commitment to support China's development both with capital and world-class technology.
Kissinger, who played a major role with opening relations between China and the United States in the 1970's, said Xi's state visit is an important step in lifting the two countries' relationship from the day to day solving of problems to the creating of a new world order.
Xi will take part in a round-table discussion with Chinese and American executives, visit Boeing and Microsoft and a local high school before flying to Washington on Thursday morning.
