"This is the shared desire of the people of the two countries and around the world, and the joint mission of Chinese and American leaders," he added.

Xi expressed his readiness to work with President Biden to build consensus and take active steps to move China-US relations forward in a positive direction.

"Doing so will advance the interests of the two peoples and meet the expectation of the international community," he said.

The meeting was the first of its kind between the two leaders since Biden took office in January. They had spoken twice over the phone, in February and September.