Despite tension over South China Sea, Xi says US-China relations are stable

PUBLISHED ON MAY 17, 2015 3:52 PM

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Chinese President Xi Jinping and US Secretary of State John Kerry shake hands prior to holding a meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China on May 17, 2015. China's ties with the United States remain stable, Mr Xi said on Sunday, as he sought to defuse tension over a territorial dispute in the South China Sea that has raised fears of confrontation between them. -- PHOTO: REUTERS

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's ties with the United States remain stable, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Sunday, as he sought to defuse tension over a territorial dispute in the South China Sea that has raised fears of confrontation between them.

"I look forward to continuing to develop this relationship with President Obama and to bring China-US relations to a new height along a track of a new model of major country relationship," Xi told US Secretary of State John Kerry at the end of Kerry's two-day trip to China.

Kerry's trip has been dominated by deepening security concerns about Beijing's maritime ambitions in the South China Sea. China's rapid reclamation effort around seven reefs in the Spratly archipelago of the South China Sea has alarmed claimants such as the Philippines and Vietnam.

Xi told Kerry that China and the United States should handle disputes in a way that would not damage bilateral ties.