Xi tells US firms China ready to be partner and friend

China is ready to be a partner and friend of the United States, and there is plenty of room for bilateral cooperation, President Xi Jinping told American executives in San Francisco on Wednesday, as Beijing looks to reassure global business and counter his country’s struggles to entice foreign investment.
The U.S. executives dined with Xi on the margins of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum following a day of talks between Xi and U.S. President Joe Biden, aimed at steadying relations between the world’s two largest economies.
Xi received a standing ovation as he entered the room, and two more before and after he took the stage to speak.
The world needs China and the U.S. to work together, and it is wrong to view China as a threat and play a zero-sum game against it, Xi said in a speech to the audience, including some hand-picked by Beijing.
“Whatever stage of development it may reach, China will never pursue hegemony or expansion, and will never impose its will on others. China does not seek spheres of influence, and will not fight a cold war or a hot war with anyone,” Xi said.