China announces Xi state visit to the United States, cites summit on key bilateral issues

China has announced that President Xi Jinping will soon make a state visit to the United States at the invitation of President Donald J. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said the visit will include in-depth exchanges of views between Xi and Trump on major issues concerning bilateral ties as well as world peace and development.

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Guo described head-of-state diplomacy as irreplaceable in providing strategic guidance to China-U.S. relations. He said the exchange of visits by the two presidents within half a year will be a milestone of historic significance.

According to Guo, China will work with the United States to enrich what he called the dimensions of a constructive relationship of strategic stability. He said Beijing wants to strengthen dialogue and cooperation and properly manage differences so the relationship can deliver greater benefits to both peoples and contribute to world peace, stability and prosperity.

The briefing also marked the fifth anniversary of the Global Development Initiative, which Guo said was put forward by Xi Jinping at the general debate of the 76th session of the UN General Assembly. He said the initiative focuses on development, aims to accelerate the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and has injected strong impetus into global development.

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Guo said the initiative has received extensive recognition from the international community and has produced fruitful outcomes over the past five years under the guidance of Xi Jinping and with the joint effort of various parties. He said the Global Development Initiative has shifted from a Chinese proposal to a global consensus, with people-centered development philosophy gaining increasing popularity.

He said the initiative has played a greater role in driving global development through real actions. Under its framework, he said, more than US$23 billion have been mobilized and more than 2,000 cooperation projects have been carried out.

Guo added that practical cooperation under the Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund has yielded fruitful outcomes in 70 plus countries and has benefited more than 40 million people. He said the initiative has developed a better cooperation architecture across sectors and has laid the groundwork for advancing international development cooperation and realizing UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Guo said the general debate of the 81st session of the General Assembly starts tomorrow. He said China will host a High-Level Dialogue on the Fifth Anniversary of the Global Development Initiative at UN headquarters in New York on September 25 on the sidelines of the general debate.

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On that event, he said China looks forward to working with the broader UN membership to take stock of achievements and useful experiences over the past five years, share development opportunities, explore cooperation on development, facilitate implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda, and build a community with a shared future for humanity. On rare earths, Guo declined to provide specifics on a question about whether China was amenable to extending the November 10 deadline for expanded restrictions on rare earth exports.

He said he had no further information to offer and referred the matter to competent authorities. He said China is committed to keeping the global industrial and supply chains of critical minerals safe and stable.

He also said China and the United States should jointly implement the important common understandings reached between the two presidents and maintain the steady growth momentum of China-U.S. economic and trade ties. Guo also addressed reports that Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson had said on September 18 that Russia sent a note of protest to Japan over the deployment of Typhon missile systems on Kyushu Island.

He said the deployment of the Typhon missile system, which he called a strategic offensive weapon, is another example of Japan's accelerated remilitarization. He said the move will raise the risk of military confrontation and an arms race, threaten strategic balance and regional stability, and harm the legitimate security interests of neighboring countries.

Guo said China has lodged strong protests against Japan through diplomatic channels on multiple occasions and has recently sent a diplomatic note to Japan to reiterate China's solemn position. Guo linked the issue to the 80th anniversary of the opening of the Tokyo Trials and urged Japan to do serious soul-searching on its history of aggression, face up to the call from regional countries, and stop advancing its remilitarization agenda.

The briefing also included China's response to the Russian State Duma elections held from September 18 to 20. Guo congratulated Russia on the smooth conclusion of the vote and said the election results represent the will of the Russian people.

He said China, as a friendly neighbor and comprehensive strategic partner of coordination for a new era, firmly supports the Russian people's independent choice and stands ready to continue working with the Russian side to act on the important common understandings between the two presidents and bring bilateral relations to new heights. On a reported terrorist attack on a police facility in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on September 18, Guo said China strongly condemns the attack.

He said China mourns the loss of lives and extends sincere sympathies to the injured and the bereaved families. Guo said terrorism is a common enemy of humanity and that fighting terrorism is in the shared interests of all countries.

He said China will continue its steadfast support for Pakistan's counter-terrorism efforts and called on all countries to join forces in tackling the threat of terrorism and safeguarding global security and stability.

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