Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday told top U.S. diplomat Antony Blinken that the world's two biggest economies should be "partners, not rivals", adding that there were a "number of issues" to be resolved in their relations.

"The two countries should be partners, not rivals," Xi said, according to state broadcaster CCTV, adding: "There are still a number of issues that need to be resolved, and there is still room for further efforts."

Calling all clean energy specialists! Are you passionate about building a sustainable future powered by innovation? Then mark your calendars for the 3rd edition of Middle East Clean Energy (MECE), the premier clean and renewable energy exhibition & conference in Lebanon, happening from May 8th to 10th, 2024 at the InterContinental Phoenicia Beirut.

- Why you should be there? -

Air passengers traveling to and from Paris experienced significant disruptions Thursday, despite a decision by air traffic controllers to cancel a strike after last-minute negotiations. Flight operations were substantially reduced because of adjustments made to schedules ahead of the proposed industrial action.

French civil aviation authorities had preemptively requested airlines to cut their flights significantly — by 75% at Paris-Orly, 55% at Charles-de-Gaulle, and 65% at Marseille-Provence, with varying reductions across other French airports. As a result, operations were severely limited, also affecting international flights that cross French airspace.

French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to outline his vision for Europe to become a more assertive global power against a backdrop of war in Ukraine and other security and economic challenges, in a speech on Thursday ahead of pivotal European Parliament elections in June.

The French president plans to focus on strategic and geopolitical issues in Europe, including defense, the economy, protecting the environment and safeguarding democracy, his advisers said. Russia's war in Ukraine, now in its third year, is expected to be the main theme of the speech Macron will deliver at Paris' Sorbonne University on Thursday.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken raised what the U.S. describes as unfair Chinese trade practices during his first full day of meetings in China on Thursday with local government officials in the financial hub of Shanghai.

Blinken met with the city's top official, Communist Party Secretary Chen Jining, and "raised concerns about (Chinese) trade policies and non-market economic practices," the State Department said in a statement.

Coming off a robust end to 2023, the U.S. economy is thought to have extended its surprisingly healthy streak at the start of this year, with consumers still spending freely despite the pressure of high interest rates.

The Commerce Department is expected to report Thursday that the gross domestic product — the economy's total output of goods and services — grew at a slow but still-decent 2.2% annual pace from January through March, according to a survey of forecasters by the data firm FactSet.

French President Emmanuel Macron Thursday called for a "revision" of EU trade policy to defend European interests, accusing both China and the United States of no longer respecting the rules of global commerce.

"It cannot work if we are the only ones in the world to respect the rules of trade -- as they were written up 15 years ago -- if the Chinese and the Americans no longer respect them by subsidising critical sectors," he said in a keynote speech.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said his country has proven the West doesn't have a monopoly on technology while inaugurating a hydropower and irrigation project in Sri Lanka on Wednesday.

Raisi is the first Iranian leader to visit Sri Lanka since former President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad visited the country in 2008.

The European Union announced on Wednesday an investigation into whether China is using unfair methods to deprive companies in Europe of access to its market for medical devices ranging from hypodermic needles to high-tech scanners.

The probe launched by the European Commission — the EU's executive branch as well as its trade and competition watchdog — is the latest attempt to help companies gain the kind of access to China's vast markets that Chinese firms enjoy in Europe.

Boeing said Wednesday that it lost $355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.