A favorable beginning

Informal get-together of Xi and Obama has increased mutual understanding about new model of relations between powers

President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart, Barack Obama, met on Friday and Saturday at the Sunnylands estate in California. The informal summit was unparalleled in the history of relations between the two countries, as the talks were held less than three months after Xi entered office. His predecessor Hu Jintao visited the United States three years after becoming China's top political leader and Jiang Zemin paid a state visit to the US four years after becoming president.

The arrangement this time reflected the importance that both China and the US attach to the development of bilateral relations and the two countries' desire to inject new vitality into their relations through frank and constructive talks.