Chinese leader Xi issues a positive message at a meeting with US business leaders as ties improve

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese leader Xi Jinping has called for closer trade ties with the U.S. during a meeting with top American business leaders in Beijing. The meeting on Wednesday came amid a steady improvement in relations that had sunk to the lowest level in years. Xi emphasized the mutually beneficial economic ties between the world’s two largest economies. That’s despite heavy U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports and Washington’s accusations of undue Communist Party influence, unfair trade barriers and theft of intellectual property. China’s economy has struggled to recover from severe self-imposed restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic that it lifted only at the end of 2022.