Beijing and Washington should strengthen mutual trust and "manage and control divergences in a constructive manner" for a lasting and healthy development of bilateral relations, President Xi Jinping said when meeting with his US counterpart Barack Obama on Saturday.

The meeting, the eighth between the two leaders, was held in Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang province, ahead of the two-day G20 Leaders Summit, which starts on Sunday.

Xi spoke highly of his interactions with Obama, saying their previous meetings "all produced important consensus".