US National Security Advisor Susan Rice (left), shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Tuesday. [Photo/Agencies]

President Xi Jinping said that strengthening cooperation between China and the United States has become increasingly important in today's complex and ever changing world.

The Chinese leader made the comment on Tuesday while meeting with US National Security Advisor Susan Rice, who was on a three-day trip to Beijing from Sep 7-9 to pave the way for President Barack Obama's upcoming visit to China on Nov 12.

Obama, along with leaders of another 20 Asia-Pacific economies, will attend the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Beijing on Nov 10-11.

Xi said he is looking forward to President Obama's visit to China and his participation in the APEC summit, according to a news release from China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Xi told Rice that China stands ready to build a new model of a major-country relationship with the US, based on non-confrontation, non-conflict, mutual respect and win-win cooperation to ensure that bilateral ties between the two nations move forward on a sustainable path.

The Chinese president assured Obama's national security advisor that the Chinese people are striving to achieve the Chinese Dream of rejuvenating the Chinese nation and moving onto a good and happy life for the 1.3 billion Chinese.

"We need a peaceful and stable external environment more than ever, and China will firmly stick to the path of peaceful development," Xi said.

He said the two countries should increase their dialogue, improve mutual understanding, respect and take care of each other's core interests and major concerns and properly handle their differences and reduce conflicts.

Xi believes the two countries share extensive common interests and both nations shoulder the important responsibility for regional and global peace, stability and prosperity.

"There are many sectors where China and the US should and can cooperate," he said, citing trade, finance, infrastructure, security, military-to military ties, climate change, counterterrorism and regional and global flash points.

Rice, who was paying her first visit to China in the current job she assumed in July 2013, said Obama firmly believes that the US-China relationship is one of the most consequential in the world and "that there is virtually no problem of global significance that cannot be better resolved when the United States and China are working together at the same table".

She reiterated the US commitment to cooperation and a new relationship with China, adding that the US is looking forward to candid dialogue with China to enhance mutual understanding, and managing differences to avoid impeding cooperation.

Bilateral relations reached a peak in June last year when Xi and Obama met for a shirt-sleeves summit in Sunnylands, California, where they pledged to build a new type of major country relationship in defiance of the historical pattern of rivalry between a rising power and an existing one.

That consensus was widely applauded and followed by increasing exchanges and cooperation, such as growing military-to-military exchanges and the formal start of negotiations for a bilateral investment treaty.

The relationship has taken a downturn in recent months, however, as issues - such as cyber espionage, maritime territorial disputes in the South China Sea and East China Sea and US close-in reconnaissance along the Chinese coast - have cast a shadow.

Fang Changlong, vice-chairman of China's Central Military Commission, told Rice in Beijing on Tuesday that the US should reduce and ultimately stop its close-in reconnaissance on China.

"We hope the US can promote the healthy development of new China-US military ties with concrete actions," Fan said.

However, on Monday, US Chief of Naval Operations Jonathan Greenert said that the US has no intention of reducing or stopping the reconnaissance flights, emphasizing that the US is operating in international airspace.

China has long regarded the US close-in reconnaissance along China's coast as a provocative and dangerous act and has repeatedly raised its concerns to the US.

Xinhua contributed to the reporting.

chenweihua@chinadailyusa.com