Meeting between U.S., Chinese presidents seminal in Sino-U.S. ties: Kissinger

NEW YORK, May 21 (Xinhua) -- The meeting between U.S. President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping will be a seminal event in Sino-U.S. relations as well as in the relations of the world, former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger said here on Tuesday.

"I am very encouraged by the announcement that the two presidents will meet, and especially by the agenda that has been announced," Kissinger said in a speech delivered at a forum entitled "U.S.-China Economic Relations in the Next Decade," sponsored by the China-United States Exchange Foundation and held in the headquarters of Asia Society.

It "specifically emphasizes the long range relationship, the review of recent interactions, and the definition of long range goals, which could make that meeting a seminal event in Sino-U.S. relations, and also in the relations of the world," said the 89-year-old Kissinger.

Chinese President Xi is scheduled to meet with Obama at a China-U.S. Summit in California early next month, which will be following Xi's state visits to Trinidad and Tobago, Costa Rica and Mexico.

The meeting between Xi and Obama will be the first between the two since the Chinese president took office in March. According to the White House, the leaders will hold "in-depth discussions on a wide range of bilateral, regional and global issues."

"We have now reached a completely different stage in relationship. In the beginning, we have a common adversary, but as time evolves, we are now facing a common challenge, and the challenge is how to build a real world, for the first time in history, on a global basis," said Kissinger.

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