Premier Li Qiang met with a US congressional delegation in Beijing on Sunday, calling on the US Congress to view China and bilateral relations in a correct way, actively facilitate exchanges and cooperation, and play a constructive role in fostering China-US friendship and common development.

When meeting with the delegation from the US House of Representatives, Li noted that as China and the United States are major countries with significant global influence, maintaining stable, sound, and sustainable development of bilateral relations serves the common interests of both sides and meets the expectations of the international community.

President Xi Jinping and his US President Donald Trump have held several phone talks this year and reached consensus that China and the US should enhance dialogue and cooperation, providing strategic guidance for the development of bilateral ties in the next stage, Li said.

China is willing to work with the US to achieve mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation, and hopes the US will work with China in the same direction to advance the bilateral relationship along the correct track, benefiting both countries and the world at large, Li noted.

The premier pointed out that China and the US should be partners for common development, treat each other with sincerity, empower each other, and achieve mutual success. China is willing to work with the US to address each other's concerns through communication in a spirit of equality, respect, and mutual benefit, he added.

The visiting US lawmakers responded by saying that the world's two largest economies need to step up engagement and "break the ice" as both superpowers made further inroads into stabilising ties.

The visit on Sunday was the first House of Representatives delegation to visit China since 2019.

The delegation is led by Democratic US Representative Adam Smith.

"We can both acknowledge that both China and the US have work to do to strengthen that relationship, which should not be, what, seven, six years between visits from the US House of Representatives," Smith told Premier Li.

"We need more of those types of exchanges, and we are hoping, to your words, that this will break the ice and we will begin to have more of these types of exchanges." (Xinhua/ Reuters)