US, China agree to resolve their differences

Washington: US Vice President Joe Biden and his visiting Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Tuesday stressed on the need to resolve the differences between the two nations, noting that this is not only in the interest of their people, but globally too.

"As we both have stated, it's very much in the interests of the people of China and the United States that we do bridge those differences," Biden said welcoming Xi at the White House.

The Obama Administration has thrown an unprecedented red carpet welcome to Xi, who soon is headed to be China's President.

During his five day stay here, Xi would meet President Barack Obama, besides holding meetings with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta.

He is also scheduled to travel to Iowa and Los Angeles, during the latter part of his visit.

"It is a sign of the strength and maturity of our relationship that we are able to talk candidly about our differences and make progress in bridging those differences," Biden said in his welcome remarks.

Xi, who is travelling to the US at the invitation of Biden, said the purpose of the visit is to help the important consensus reached by the Presidents of the two countries and to promote the building of a China-US cooperative partnership based on mutual respect and mutual advantages.

"Through this visit, I hope to engage with a broad cross section of American society to deepen the mutual understanding, consensus and the friendship between the Chinese and American people. So I hope my visit will be a visit to strengthen consensus, cooperation and deepen our friendship," the Chinese Vice President said.

Biden said the Obama Administration is determined to renew and intensify the US role in the Asia-Pacific region and strengthen its ties in particular with China.

"As we discussed in my visit to China, this bilateral relationship is one of the most important in the world, and from, I think, our mutual perspective, important not only to both our countries, but to the world at large. Your visit continues the sustained high-level dialogue between our countries," Biden said.