The two US and Chinese leaders began their meeting.

US President Barack Obama called for a "new model of cooperation" with China while President Xi Jinping said his summit with Mr Obama had shaped the future of the relationship between the two countries.

On the morning of June 8, Vietnam time, US President Barack Obama held talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the private resort Sunnylands, near Los Angeles, California on the west coast of the United States.

(Photo: EPA)

This is the first meeting between the two leaders since Xi Jinping took over as China's top leader and President Obama was elected to a second term.

According to a VNA reporter in the US, this informal meeting between President Obama and President Xi Jinping should have waited until next September on the sidelines of the Group of 20 (G20) Summit in Russia.

The two sides' agreement to move the summit forward clearly reflects the need and desire for cooperation of the leaders of the world's two largest economies.

Speaking to reporters before entering the talks, President Obama said the decision to meet as soon as President Xi Jinping took power reflected the importance of the US-China relationship.

Mr. Obama hopes this informal meeting will create space for in-depth discussions aimed at "a new model of cooperation" between the two countries.

The US president welcomed the rise of a peaceful China and pursued an economic order in which all nations "play by the same rules." Mr. Obama acknowledged that "obviously there are areas of tension between the two countries," but that it was in both countries' interests to work together.

For his part, Chinese President Xi Jinping said that his meeting with President Obama was to outline a plan for developing China-US relations in the coming time.

The Chinese leader said that in recent times, the relationship between the two countries, despite many ups and downs, has achieved historic progress and brought great benefits to the people of the two countries.

The Chinese president pointed out that the relationship between the two countries is at a new starting point, in which both sides share the same top concerns, from promoting each country's economic development, restoring world economic growth, to resolving pressing regional and international issues, and dealing with global challenges. This requires China and the US to promote bilateral cooperation.

Earlier, in a meeting last week in Beijing with US National Security Advisor Tom Donilon, President Xi Jinping identified the relationship between Beijing and Washington as being at a "turning point" based on past cooperation achievements to open new pages for the future.

According to experts, although the summit is for the purpose of getting to know the two leaders, the talks have a very broad official agenda, including many bilateral, regional and international issues.

Bilateral issues of interest to be discussed by both sides include cooperation in building a new type of major power relationship that both sides have agreed on; China's monetary policy that the US believes is detrimental to US exports; high-tech export restrictions that the US still imposes on China; trade protection barriers and further market opening, creating a level playing field between businesses of the two countries...

The issue of cyber security, especially hacking and cyber espionage originating from China, is a hot topic that the Obama administration has repeatedly said it will raise during the meeting.

Regarding regional and international issues, the White House press release said the two leaders focused on discussing issues including easing tensions on the Korean peninsula; the controversial nuclear programs of North Korea and Iran; the crisis in Syria; cooperation to ensure security for Afghanistan after the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) withdrew its troops in 2014; maritime security with territorial and maritime disputes in the Asian region; the US's strategic shift to the Asia-Pacific region, promoting the US-China military relationship as well as the two economies' responsibilities to the global economy...

After the talks, President Obama and President Xi Jinping will have a working dinner that evening. After that, the two leaders will enter the second day of talks./.

According to (Vietnam+) - DT