In spite of what seemed to be a tumultuous start to Xi Jinping's leadership vis-à-vis the United-States, on 13 May 2017 Xi said at the "Belt and Road Forum" in Beijing: "We should foster a new type of international relations featuring 'win-win cooperation', and we should forge a partnership of dialogue with no confrontation, and a partnership of friendship rather than alliance. All countries should respect each other's sovereignty, dignity and territorial integrity; respect each other's development path and its social systems, and respect each other's core interests and major concerns... What we hope to create is a big family of harmonious coexistence.”Starting in 2017, China's relationship with South Korea soured over the THAAD purchase of the latter while China's relations with North Korea increased because of meetings between Xi and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. At the G20 meeting in Japan, Xi called for a "timely easing" of sanctions imposed on North Korea.