Chinese President Xi Jinping meets?his US counterpart Barack Obama on the sidelines of the 2016 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Meeting in Lima, Peru.[Photo/Xinhua]

LIMA - Chinese President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart, Barack Obama, met here Saturday and agreed to maintain healthy and steady development of bilateral relations.

Meeting on the sidelines of the 2016 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Meeting, Xi spoke highly of the US president's endeavor in developing ties with China.

It was the third meeting this year between Xi and Obama, and the ninth in over three years, recalled the Chinese president.

The two heads of state have conducted multiple in-depth exchanges of views on issues of strategic and overall significance in bilateral ties and reached broad consensuses, especially their joint decision to build a new type of China-US major country relations that has guided the two countries to achieve significant progress in bilateral ties, Xi said.

Summing up the two countries' experience in developing bilateral relations over the past more than three years, Xi told Obama that the two countries firstly have a good grasp of the general direction of bilateral ties, with cooperation being their only correct choice.

Secondly, China and the United States have actively expanded practical cooperation and pursued win-win and multi-win outcomes, which benefited not only the two countries, but also the world at large, Xi said.

Thirdly, he noted, the two countries have stuck to managing sensitive issues in a constructive way with mutual respect, avoiding misjudgment, and more thinking in each other's shoes, so as to prevent the escalation of disputes.

China and the United States bear great responsibilities and have broad common interest in safeguarding world peace and stability, and promoting global development and prosperity, said Xi, adding that a long-term, stable and healthy growth of China-US ties serves the fundamental interest of both peoples and is widely expected by the international community.

Xi said he has had a phone conversation with Donald Trump after Trump was elected the next US president.

The Chinese president said he is willing to work with Trump to expand cooperation in various fields at bilateral, regional and global levels, and manage differences in a constructive way, so as to realize non-confrontation, mutual respect, win-win cooperation, and greater progress for China-US ties from a new start point.

Recalling his close contact with Xi in recent years, Obama said he and Xi have forged a candid, friendly and constructive relationship and increased mutual trust.

In more than three years, the United States and China have jointly dealt with challenges and effectively managed differences, while bilateral consultation and cooperation mechanisms have yielded rich results, said Obama.

The two sides have carried out cooperation on such issues as promoting global growth, reaching an agreement on the Iranian nuclear issue, and addressing the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, he said, highlighting their key roles in driving forward international efforts in dealing with climate change.

Calling the US-China relationship the most significant bilateral relationship in the world, the US president said a constructive US-China relationship is beneficial to both peoples and the international community at large.

Obama told Xi that he has underlined the importance of US-China relations to Trump, and stressed that there should be a smooth transition of bilateral ties amid the US presidential change.

The US side is ready to develop a more sustained, fruitful relationship with China, said Obama.

The leaders of the world's two largest economies also made an in-depth exchange of views on major global and regional issues of common concern.