On September 25 local time, President Xi Jinping and his wife Mme. Peng Liyuan attended the grand welcoming banquet held by President Barack Obama of the US at the White House.

At 7:00 pm, Xi Jinping and Peng Liyuan arrived at the White House, and Barack Obama and his wife Michelle Obama met them at the gate. The two heads of state and their wives took a group photo, attended the VIP cocktail reception and shook hands with officials of both sides present at the banquet. After the reception, the two heads of state and their wives left for the East Room of the White House.

After the banquet began, Barack Obama and Xi Jinping proposed a toast respectively. In his address, Barack Obama extended his warm welcome to Xi Jinping once again. Barack Obama said that President Xi Jinping and he reached consensus on continuously strengthening bilateral cooperation in all fields during the talks. The US and China need cooperation and can remain it as well, for the lasting friendship between the two peoples makes them full of confidence. The two peoples have established brotherly friendship ever since the Chinese villagers rescued US pilots during the World War II. In recent years, bilateral exchanges between the two peoples such as tourism and studying abroad have been increasingly frequent. Recently, the two countries have jointly assisted Africa to fight against Ebola, composing a praised story that the US and China join hands to meet global challenges. The constant development of friendship between the two peoples has become an important pillar of US-China relations. We should follow the spirit of inclusiveness and make the US and China much stronger through continued expansion of cooperation.

In his address, Xi Jinping stressed that the state visit to the US is an unforgettable journey. Along the way, I have deeply felt that the peoples of the US and China bear friendly feelings toward each other, and are eager to deepen China-US cooperation. President Barack Obama and I had longtime talks, and had candid and in-depth exchanges of views and reached broad and important consensus on China-US relations and major issues in world peace and development.

Xi Jinping pointed out that for over thirty years, China-US relations have been moving forward and made extraordinary achievements after going through a tortuous journey. Looking ahead, I firmly believe that China-US relations will surely enjoy a much better future in light of the unprecedented common interests and common responsibilities. As a Chinese saying goes, "Those who strive will achieve their goals and those who set off step by step will arrive where they wish." President Abraham Lincoln also said that, "The best way to predict your future is to create it." Let us adhere to mutual respect and mutual learning, continuously deepen mutual understanding and trust, vigorously expand coordination and cooperation in various fields at bilateral, regional and global levels, and turn the blueprint that both sides drew into reality step by step to write a new historical chapter of China-US relations with the spirit of innovation.

The banquet was alive with a friendly atmosphere all along. US artists gave wonderful performances.

About 220 people were present at the banquet, including Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of State John Kerry, principle members of the Cabinet of the US and celebrities from various circles.

Wang Huning, Li Zhanshu, Yang Jiechi and others attended the welcoming banquet.