Xi, Trump witness signing of deals worth $250b

President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart, Donald Trump, witnessed the signing of 15 cooperation documents worth more than $250 billion between Chinese and US companies at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Thursday.

The signing ceremony was held during the two presidents' meeting with entrepreneurs from both countries.

After witnessing the ceremony, Xi said in a speech that the future for China-US economic and trade cooperation is bright.

China is willing to expand import of natural gas and crude oil from the US, and Chinese government encourages domestic companies to invest in the US, he said.

Noting that it's natural for the two countries to have trade friction, Xi called on the two sides to properly handle such issue with the principle of equality and mutual benefit.

China will firmly stick to reform and opening-up, deepen supply-side structural reform, and put forward practical measures to boost opening-up, Xi pledged.

Trump spoke highly of the contributions made by the business people to the economic and trade cooperation between the two countries

Mentioning the current trade relations between US and China, Trump said that it's not China, but the former US administration to be blamed for America's trade deficit.

Trump also expressed gratitude for China's efforts for the denuclearization of Korean Peninsula.