Xi and Obama work to advance Sino-US ties

World Today

Photo: AP

Chinese President Xi Jinping and his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama, have held two major one-on-one meetings since Xi took office in 2013. Each meeting has led to some landmark policy shifts.

In June 2013, they met for an informal summit in Sunnylands, a meeting center in Rancho Mirage, California.

The relaxed setting made headlines across the world, and led to the two leaders agreeing on candid and mutually beneficial diplomacy with the aim of establishing “a new type of major power relationship.”

In late 2014, Xi and Obama met in Beijing after attending the APEC leaders’ meeting. The two discussed a range of issues including combatting terrorism, rebuilding in Afghanistan, expanding military-to-military ties, and easing visa rules.