Xi Stresses Positive U.S. Ties in Lew Meeting Amid Tensions

Chinese President Xi Jinping stressed positive ties with the U.S. in his first meeting with a foreign official since taking the post amid tensions between the world’s two biggest economies over espionage and exchange rates.

The nations’ economies have a “seamless connection” and their relationship is of “great importance,” Xi, in his sixth day as president, said during a meeting with U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Lew, in his first trip since taking office Feb. 28, said they had a “special responsibility” for strong global growth, before reporters were ushered out of the room.