WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President
Barack Obama told Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday he wants
U.S.-Chinese relations defined by more cooperation and a constructive
management of differences during a phone call in which Iran and North
Korea were discussed.
Escalating tensions between China and some countries in the South
China Sea and with Japan in the East China Sea, as well as U.S.
charges over hacking and Internet spying, have provoked anger on
both sides of the Pacific in recent months.
A White House statement about the Obama-Xi conversation did not get
into the details of U.S.-Chinese tensions. It came after two days of
talks in Beijing that were an opportunity for the world's two
biggest economies to lower tensions after months of bickering over a
host of issues.
Obama and Xi have tried to develop a working relationship over the
past year, meeting for two days in June 2013 at a retreat in the
California desert and, more recently, chatting in March at The Hague
on the fringes of an international summit.
However, their talks have done little to resolve festering issues in
the Asia-Pacific region. The statement suggested the two leaders
would seek to work together when they can despite their
disagreements.
"The president reaffirmed his commitment to developing a
relationship defined by increased practical cooperation and
constructive management of differences," the White House said.
China's official Xinhua news agency said Xi told Obama that the two
countries should continue to meet each other half way and keep
strengthening cooperation on key issues like climate change.
Obama told Xi he looked forward to seeing him at an Asia-Pacific
summit in Beijing in November.
The White House statement said Obama stressed to Xi the need for
communication and coordination on actions with China to ensure North
Korea meets its denuclearization commitments.
China is North
Korea's only major ally.
Last week, North Korea launched
short-range missiles that were in defiance of a U.N. ban that
prohibits Pyongyang from using or procuring ballistic missile
technology that could be used in its nuclear or intercontinental
ballistic missile programs.
Xinhua said only that the two leaders "exchanged views" on the
situation on the Korean peninsula.
The two leaders also reviewed efforts to persuade Iran to agree to a
nuclear agreement by a July 20 deadline. The White House said the
two leaders "discussed the need for continued U.S.-China
cooperation" in the ongoing international negotiations between Iran
and six world powers.
"The president underscored the need for Iran to take the steps
necessary to assure the international community that its nuclear
program is exclusively peaceful," the statement said.
China and Iran have close energy and trade ties, and Beijing has
repeatedly resisted U.S.-led demands to impose tougher economic
sanctions on Iran to curb its nuclear ambitions. Iran says it is
enriching uranium for peaceful energy purposes only.
Xi said that China was willing to work with the United States to
ensure a comprehensive, lasting solution, despite the difficulties
that still needed to be overcome, Xinhua reported.
(Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard in BEIJING; Editing by Nick
Macfie)
