Sri Lanka, April 27 -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday (Apr 26) told top US diplomat Antony Blinken that the world's two biggest economies should be "partners, not rivals", but that there were a "number of issues" to be resolved in their relations.

Blinken, in China for the second time in less than a year, met leading Chinese politicians in the capital Beijing, where US officials said he would directly raise crucial areas of difference including Russia, Taiwan and trade.

Meeting Blinken in Beijing's Great Hall of the People, Xi said the two countries had "made some positive progress" since he met with US President Joe Biden last year, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

"The two countries should be partners, not rivals," Xi sai...