Sino-US ties need more understanding: Xi

President Xi Jinping (C) delivers a speech during a welcome banquet jointly hosted by Washington State government and friendly communities in Seattle, the United States, Sept 22, 2015. Xi arrived in this east Pacific coast city on Tuesday morning for his first state visit to the US. [Photo/Xinhua]

Beijing and Washington must read each other's strategic intentions correctly, and have "less estrangement and suspicion in order to forestall misunderstanding and miscalculation," said Chinese President Xi Jinping Tuesday night in his first major policy speech on China-US ties since he arrived in the US early Tuesday.

Xi called for more understanding and trust between the US and China, prior to his formal talks with President Barack Obama at the White House on Friday.

"China is ready to set up a high-level joint-dialogue mechanism with the United States on fighting cybercrimes," he said, adding that the Chinese government was a staunch defender of cybersecurity while also being a victim of cybercrime.

Xi made his remarks in a 40-minute speech, the only public speech during his US visit, at a dinner attended by more than 750 business leaders and other dignitaries, including former secretary of State Henry Kissinger. It was sponsored by the National Committee on United States-China Relations and the US-China Business Council.

President Xi Jinping (L) is introduced by former US National Security Advisor and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger at a speech during a dinner reception in Seattle, Washington, September 22, 2015. [Photo/Agencies]

Xi said the world's two largest economies "should strictly base our judgment on fact, lest we become victims to hearsay, paranoia, or self-imposed bias".

"There is no such thing as the so-called ‘Thucydides' trap' in the world, but should major countries time and again make the mistakes of strategic miscalculation, they might create such traps for themselves," he said.

In addition to cybersecurity, Xi raised other issues of concern to some in the US audience, including China's stock market and investment.

Xi said that the government took the necessary steps to stabilize the stock market after recent turbulence triggered wide concern

"It is the duty of the government to ensure an open, fair, and just market order and prevent massive panic from happening. This time, the Chinese government took steps to stabilize the market and contain panic in the stock market and thus avoided a systemic risk," he said.

China's central bank took measures in August to adjust its currency exchange rate according to market supply and demand, which the president said has achieved "initial success" in correcting the currency rate deviation.

"Given the economic and financial situation at home and abroad, there is no basis for continuous depreciation of the RMB," he said.