Chinese President Xi Jinping and his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump reached consensus on economic and trade issues, and agreed to avoid escalation of restrictive trade measures as well as jointly chart the course for China-U.S. relations in the next stage. 

China and the U.S., as two major countries with great influence, shoulder important responsibilities in promoting world peace and prosperity, Xi said at a two-hour working dinner with Trump on the sidelines of the 13th summit of the Group of 20 (G20) in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Saturday. 

Cooperation is the best option for the two countries, Xi said, adding "only with cooperation between us can we serve the interest of both peace and prosperity." 

Xi also encouraged the U.S. and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to work towards the same goal, take care of each other's legitimate concerns and advance denuclearization and the establishment of a peace mechanism on the peninsula in parallel. 

For his part, Trump expressed his hope at the start of the meeting that they would achieve "something great" on trade for both countries. 

Trump suggested that the "incredible relationship" he and Xi had established would be "the very primary reason" they could make progress on trade, reports said. 

He expressed the U.S.' appreciation of the positive role that China has played and expressed that his country will continue coordination and cooperation with the Chinese side. 

Xi and Trump agreed to continue the trade talks between the two countries and stop imposing new tariffs, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said when giving a briefing on the Xi-Trump meeting, adding both leaders have agreed to "have further exchange of visits at an appropriate time."

The two sides decided to avoid escalation of restrictive trade measures and avoid the further raising of existing tariffs imposed on each other and slapping new additional tariffs on other products. Both countries also agreed to actively strengthen law enforcement and anti-drug cooperation, and enhance education as well as people-to-people exchanges, according to reports. 

White House chief economist Larry Kudlow told reporters that the talks went "very well." 

The White House released the names of the two delegations, totaling 20 people in addition to the two leaders. On the U.S. side, the delegation included advisers such as Kudlow and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who are widely seen as wanting to cut a deal, but also hawkish advisers like Peter Navarro and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer. 

Xi-Trump meetings have attracted worldwide attention. After Trump took office, President Xi had three meetings with him prior to Saturday's talk in Buenos Aires.

The first meeting: Chart bilateral ties in a new era

Date: April 6-7, 2017

Site: Mar-a-Lago resort, Florida, U.S. 

During their first face-to-face meeting, the two leaders met for seven hours over the course of two days, discussing bilateral and global issues, and building personal rapport while charting the course for China-U.S. relations in a new era. 

Xi expressed his readiness to lead, together with Trump, to upgrade China-U.S. relations, and told Trump there are "a thousand reasons to make the China-U.S. relations work, and no reason to break it." 

Describing the relationship with President Xi as outstanding, Trump, for his part, believed that many potentially bad problems will be going away, and he also accepted the invitation to visit China. 

The two leaders set a constructive tone for the development of China-U.S. ties with fruitful results, including the establishment of a new cabinet-level framework for negotiations, which includes the diplomatic and security dialogue, the comprehensive economic dialogue, the law enforcement and cybersecurity dialogue and the social and cultural issues dialogue.

The second meeting: Keep bilateral ties healthy and stable

Date: July 8, 2017

Site: Hamburg, Germany 

During the second meeting, President Xi and Trump agreed to boost practical cooperation in various fields and strengthen coordination on international and regional issues, so as to keep China-U.S. relations healthy and stable. 

When talking about advancing military ties, President Xi suggested that the two countries' defense ministers carry out an exchange of visits as soon as possible. 

For his part, Trump hailed the "wonderful relationship" with Xi and expressed confidence in the "success" in addressing common problems together with China. He added that with China being an important trade partner to the U.S., his country is willing to expand dialogue and win-win cooperation with China in all relevant fields. 

The two leaders also had an in-depth exchange of views regarding the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue and on boosting bilateral cooperation within the framework of the G20.

The third meeting: Draw a blueprint for future ties

Date: November 8-11, 2017

Site: Beijing, China 

With extensive achievements and consensus reached between President Xi and Trump during his first China trip after assuming the U.S. presidency, the two leaders' third meeting strengthened conviction in bilateral cooperation to draw a blueprint for future development of bilateral ties. 

During Trump's visit, the two countries signed contracts and two-way investment agreements worth more than 250 billion U.S. dollars. 

The two leaders agreed on maintaining the "strategic leading role of head-of-state diplomacy" in developing bilateral relations, and having broad common interests and important responsibility for protecting world peace, stability and prosperity. 

They also agreed to continue to have close contact through telephone conversations, letters and meetings, and exchange views on major issues of common concern in a timely manner. 

(With input from Xinhua)