BEIJING: China`s number two leader on Sunday called for `dialogue` with Washington, during a meeting in Beijing attended by prominent US business executives and a key congressional ally of President Donald Trump.

Relations between the world`s two largest economies have plunged in recent weeks, as blanket tariffs imposed by Trump threaten China`s trade prospects.

Premier Li Qiang`s comments came during a meeting with Trump supporter Steve Daines, a Republican senator from Montana.

His visit has been viewed as a bid to ease strained relations, with an eye towards setting up a summit between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. `Our two sides need to choose dialogue over confrontation, win-win cooperation over zero-sum competition,` Li told Daines.

CEOs of major firms including FedEx, Pfizer and Qualcomm were also present. Li said he hoped Washington would `work together with China to promote the steady, sound and sustainable development` of relations.

Earlier on Sunday, Li told the China Development Forum that Beijing would pursue economic globalisation despite `fragmentation`, a thinly veiled reference to trade turmoil sparked by Trump.

Chinese leaders have been attempting to steer a shaky econ-omy onto a more stable path since the end of the pandemic, particularly by boosting consumption.

They are seeking to position the country as a defender of the multilateral economic system, as Trump wages tariff wars with major US trading partners including China, Canada and Mexico.

`China will firmly stand on the correct side of history, that of fairness and justice, and act in a righteous manner amid the rough waters of the times,` Li said at the annual forum, attended by business leaders including AppleCEO Tim Cook. Beijing will `adhere to the correct direction of economic globalisation, practice true multilateralism and strive to be a force for stability and certainty`, Li said. In an apparent reference to renewed trade wars sparked by Trump, Li said that `global economic fragmentation is intensifying` and that `instability and uncertainty are on the rise`.

Talks were also expected to discuss the flow of the deadly drug fentanyl and its precursor chemicals from China into the United States.-AFP