Chinese President Xi Jinping (6th R) meets with US Congress leaders on Capitol Hill in Washington DC, the United States, Sept 25, 2015. [Photo/Xinhua]

WASHINGTON - Visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping met on Friday with US Congress leaders at the Capitol Hill, calling for managing the differences between the two countries in a proper and constructive way.

Speaking to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, House Speaker John Boehner, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, and leaders of major Senate and House committees, Xi commended the legislative bodies of the two countries for their support in advancing China-US relations over the past years.

The president said the two countries should leave a much better relationship to their children, a goal that the two sides should make long-term efforts to attain.

China and the United States should keep their relations from falling into the so-called Thucydides trap, he said, noting that the two sides should also expand cooperation and mange and control their differences, thus benefiting more people of the two countries and the world at large.

The two countries will brace for more common interests and broader cooperation, not the other way around, Xi said.

The Congress leaders welcomed Xi for his state visit to the United States, saying the Congress is willing to play a positive role in deepening bilateral friendship and cooperation.

Xi also exchanged views with them on China's economy, climate change, the South China Sea, human rights, cyber space, investment environment and other issues.