Realizing the Chinese Dream is a process that promotes social justice and advances human rights, Chinese President Xi Jinping said here Friday.

Xi, paying his first state visit to the United States, made the remarks during a joint press conference with U.S. President Barack Obama, who welcomed Xi to the White House with a formal ceremony earlier in the day.

Democracy and human rights are the common pursuits of human kind, Xi said, noting that the rights of people in different countries to choose their own development path must be respected.

The Chinese people are in the process of realizing the Chinese Dream of the great revitalization of the nation, and in essence, it is a process that promotes social justice and advances human rights, he said.

Xi said China is willing to conduct human rights dialogue with the United States based on equality and mutual respect, so as to expand consensus, narrow differences, learn from each other, and make progress together.

Before visiting the U.S. capital, Xi concluded a busy two-and-a-half-day stay in the West Coast technology and aviation hub of Seattle, where he put forward a four-point proposal on developing a new model of major-country relationship between China and the United States.

The Chinese president will be in New York from Sept. 26 to 28 for a series of summits and meetings marking the 70th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations.