Chinese President Xi Jinping Meets with Attendees to Second China-U.S. Governors Forum

“China-U.S. cooperation will benefit the two nations and contribute to world peace， stability and common development，” said Chinese President Xi Jinping at a meeting with Chinese and US attendees to the Second China-U.S. Governors Forum in the Great Hall of the People on April 15.

“Relations between China and the United States are currently at an important phase linking past and future，” he said.

The President recalled his latest telephone discussion with US President Barack Obama， explaining they had agreed on the direction for building a bilateral cooperative partnership and developing a new type of relationship through continuing to promote various bilateral dialogue and cooperation mechanisms.

Xi hailed the China-U.S. governors forum as an important mechanism for regional cooperation. “China and the U.S. are economically complementary and see a long history of peopleto-people and cultural exchanges”. He said such activities would enrich the overall connotation and inject fresh vitality into cooperation at local levels.

These currently showed unprecedented development momentum. “The participating governors of both sides are gathered here for the common goal of cooperation and development，” Xi said.

He called on both sides to work hard to develop the forum to play a greater role in promoting China-U.S. friendship and bilateral relations.

Xi hoped the two sides would give full play to their own characteristics and advantages based on their respective development strategies. He encouraged Chinese provinces and US states to work more closely in traditional sectors like agriculture and advance cooperation in new areas such as energy conservation， environmental protection， new energy， urban planning and infrastructure， so as to deepen cooperation at local levels and establish longer-term and more reliable cooperative ties.

US governors present at the meeting were Iowa Governor Terry Branstad， Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and Virginia Governor Robert McDonnell. They said China was an increasingly important partner for them and their exchanges and cooperation were fruitful.

They were glad to attend the forum and discuss deepening cooperation with Chinese provincial leaders. They called for stronger cooperation in agriculture， trade and economy， culture and education so as to make greater contributions to promoting U.S.-China relations.