Xi: Conflict Between U.S., China Would Be 'Disastrous’

Washington, D.C. Chinese President Xi Jinping is calling for better relations with Washington to help prevent what he said would be disastrous conflict between the two nations, as he begins his week-long tour of the United States.

U.S. Secretary of State , dressed in a traditional batik shirt,

speaks with Chinese President Xi Jinping before the APEC Leaders' Dinner.

State Department photo by William Ng/Public Domain.

The comments came Tuesday during a much-anticipated policy speech to business leaders in Seattle, the first stop on a trip that will culminate later this week with the Chinese leader's first state visit to the White House.

"If China and the U.S. cooperate well, they can become a bedrock of global stability," Xi said. "Should they enter into conflict or confrontation, it would lead to disaster for both countries and the world at large."

The Chinese leader also addressed a wide range of other issues that have upset U.S.-China ties, including cyber hacking, which President Barack Obama has said will figure prominently in their one-on-one talks.

"The Chinese government will not in whatever form engage in commercial theft or encourage or support such attempts by anyone," Xi said, repeating Beijing's assertion that it is the victim, not perpetrator, of such attacks.

He also said China will not lower the value of its currency to boost exports. That is a longstanding worry among many U.S. officials, made worse by Beijing's surprise recent devaluation of the yuan.

Xi and U.S. President Barack Obama are expected to have intense talks about cyber espionage and economic issues during the Chinese leader's state visit to the White House on Friday.

The United States will press China to avoid "quick fixes" for its economy, such as devaluing its currency to boost exports, White House chief economist Jason Furman said Tuesday.

Furman said China's recent loosening of controls on the yuan "caused turmoil" in global financial markets and that U.S. officials would also raise the issue of China's volatile stock market.

On Monday, Susan Rice, Obama's national security adviser, warned China that Beijing-sponsored cyber espionage was a major stumbling block to U.S.-China relations and said such spying must stop.

Another area of possible disagreement are China's controversial territorial claims in the South China Sea.

Xi told The Wall Street Journal that the Spratly Islands chain, also claimed in part by the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan, has been Chinese territory since ancient times. China, which calls the island chain Nansha, has been carrying out land reclamation projects, as well as building civilian and military facilities.

"China's development and maintenance of facilities on some of our garrisoned islands and reefs in the Nansha islands does not impact on or target any other country, and it should not be overinterpreted," Xi said.

The U.S. has demanded that China stop those activities, calling them out of step with international norms and a risk for sparking conflict in the region.

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