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Obama Told Xi He Wants to Help Preserve Ties, State Media Says

  • Former U.S. president’s first meeting with Xi after retirement
  • Obama willing to help strengthen cooperation between countries
Barack Obama speaks in Chicago on Nov. 1, 2017.

Barack Obama speaks in Chicago on Nov. 1, 2017.

Photographer: Timothy Hiatt/Getty Images North America
By
Bloomberg News

Former U.S. President Barack Obama offered in his first post-retirement meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping to help ensure strong ties between the world’s two largest economies, Chinese state media said.

The Chinese president told Obama that the two sides shared a wide range of common interests and had a responsibility to maintain world peace and prosperity, the official Xinhua News Agency said. Although Obama met Xi on Wednesday -- part of an itinerary that also includes stops by the former president in India and France -- details were only reported by Chinese state media Thursday.