Xi, who is in Washington for the fourth Nuclear Security Summit (NSS), made the remarks at a dinner hosted by U.S. President Barack Obama at the White House and themed "Nuclear Security Threat Perceptions."

Speaking first after Obama's welcome speech, Xi pointed out that in order to strengthen the global nuclear security architecture, the international community should first grasp the two new characteristics of the current situation.

The first is that terrorist activities around the world have entered a new active phase in which nuclear terrorism has become too serious to be ignored and the risk of nuclear material proliferation is on the rise, he said.

The second feature, he added, is that thanks to the six-year-old NSS process, the global line of defense for nuclear security has grown solider with broader international consensus, stronger sense of responsibility on the part of national governments, more effective laws and mechanisms, deeper cooperation in capacity-building and law enforcement, and wider awareness of the nuclear security culture.

These efforts have helped boost the peaceful use of nuclear energy and contributed to safeguarding international peace and security, commented the Chinese leader.

Noting that it is a global consensus to strengthen international cooperation and fight terrorism in all its forms, he said, "while the challenges to nuclear security are big, our resolve is even bigger. While the battle against nuclear terrorism faces many difficulties, we have more ways to deal with them."

He stressed that in maintaining nuclear security there is neither any end nor any shortcut, and that his country looks forward to conferring with other parties on how to firm up the global nuclear security regime and further consolidate the line of defense.

In his welcome speech, Obama spoke highly of the achievements that have been made within the NSS framework, which was initiated by Obama and headlined by biennial summits since 2010.

He emphasized that with the nuclear security realm beset with new threats, the world needs to step up cooperation and make continued efforts to better secure nuclear materials and jointly guarantee nuclear security.

The dinner was held for the heads of the delegations from 52 countries and four international organizations to the 2016 NSS, whose main activities will take place Friday.

Related:

Spotlight: China, U.S. agree to expand common interests, control differences

WASHINGTON, March 31 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping and his U.S. counterpart, Barack Obama, agreed here Thursday to deepen China-U.S. cooperation in various fields while controlling differences in a bid to consolidate and expand their countries' common interests.

The latest sign of a closer relationship between Beijing and Washington came as the two leaders met on the sidelines of the fourth Nuclear Security Summit (NSS), discussing an array of issues ranging from macroeconomic policies and nuclear security cooperation, to maritime issues and Korean Peninsula stability.   Full story

China pledges further nuclear cooperation with U.S. in customs control

WASHINGTON, March 31 (Xinhua) -- China will continue to work with the U.S. in strengthening nuclear cooperation in terms of customs control, said Li Wei, deputy director-general of the Department of Customs Control and Inspection of the General Administration of China Customs (GACC), here Thursday.

Li made the remarks at a press briefing for the two-day 2016 Nuclear Security Summit from March 31 to April 1 in the U.S. capital. Full story

China, U.S. vow to boost nuclear security cooperation

WASHINGTON, March 31 (Xinhua) -- China and the United States on Thursday reaffirmed their joint commitment to global nuclear security and pledged to continue cooperation in this area beyond the Nuclear Security Summit (NSS) process.

In a joint statement released as Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Barack Obama met here on the sidelines of the fourth NSS, the two countries declared their "commitment to working together to foster a peaceful and stable international environment by reducing the threat of nuclear terrorism and striving for a more inclusive, coordinated, sustainable and robust global nuclear security architecture for the common benefit and security of all." Full story