Xi: Sino-US economic cooperation benefits both sides

Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping said in Los Angeles Friday that both China and the United States have benefited from their growing business ties over the past four decades.

Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping delivers a speech during the opening of the U.S.-China Economic and Trade Cooperation Forum in Los Angeles, the United States, Feb. 17, 2012. [Xinhua]

Addressing the opening session of the China-U.S. Economic and Trade Cooperation Forum held in Los Angeles, Xi said that mutual benefit has been "the most salient" feature of China-U.S. economic and trade cooperation.

"There is a view which suggests that China is the winner and the United States the loser in bilateral economic and trade relations. Such a view does not square with facts," said Xi.

Admitting that China has indeed benefited a lot from its growing business ties with the United States, Xi said: "So has the United States."

"Both China and the United States are winners. This is a truly win-win situation," the vice president said.

The large import of quality and inexpensive goods from China has helped the American people improve their real spending power and living standards and contributed to the efforts of the United States to maintain growth, said Xi.

According to the findings of the U.S.-China Business Council, economic cooperation and trade with China has served to propel economic growth and keep consumer prices relatively low in the United States. Business cooperation with China has, in effect, added an extra 1,000 U.S. dollars to the annual disposable income of each American household.

In addition, the growing China-U.S. business ties have created lots of job opportunities in the United States, Xi said.

Available statistics show that between 2001 and 2010, over 3 million new jobs were created in the United States thanks to exports to China, he said.

Chinese companies in the United States have also contributed to job creation, he added.

Xi arrived in Los Angeles Thursday afternoon from the central state of Iowa. He started his U.S. visit in Washington D.C. on Monday as a guest of his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden.

The United States is the first leg of Xi's three-nation tour, which will also take him to Ireland and Turkey.