BEIJING – Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Thursday that he expects 2026 to be a "historic, landmark year" that opens up a new chapter in China-US relations.

China and the United States have more common interests than differences, Xi said when holding talks with visiting US President Donald Trump in Beijing.

Success in one is an opportunity for the other, and a stable bilateral relationship is good for the world, he added.

Noting that China and the US should be partners instead of rivals, Xi said the two countries should help each other succeed and prosper together, and find the right way for major countries to get along well with each other in the new era.

“I look forward to our discussions on major issues important to our two countries and the world, and working together with you to set the course and steer the giant ship of China-US relations, so as to make 2026 a historic, landmark year that opens up a new chapter in China-US relations," said the Chinese leader.

China-US economic ties are mutually beneficial and win-win in nature, he said. “Yesterday, our economic and trade teams produced generally balanced and positive outcomes. This is good news for the people of the two countries and the world.”

Facts have shown time and again that trade wars have no winner, noted Xi.

"Where disagreements and frictions exist, equal-footed consultation is the only right choice," he said, calling on the two sides to jointly sustain the good momentum that they have worked hard to create.

China and the US must jointly answer the questions of our times, he said.

Transformation not seen in a century is accelerating across the globe, and the international situation is fluid and turbulent, he said, stressing that the world has come to another crossroads.

"Can China and the United States overcome the Thucydides Trap and create a new paradigm of major-country relations? Can we meet global challenges together and provide greater stability for the world? Can we build a bright future together for our bilateral relations in the interest of the well-being of the two peoples and the future of humanity? These are the questions vital to history, to the world and to the people," said Xi.

"They are the questions of our times that the leaders of major countries need to answer together," he said.

Earlier in the morning, President Xi held a welcoming ceremony outside the Great Hall of the People in central Beijing for the US leader.

The US leader is on a state visit to China from May 13 to 15. This is the first US presidential visit to China in the past nine years and Trump's second since November 2017.