President Hu Jintao reiterated the importance of
maintaining stable and mutually beneficial Sino-US economic
relations, urging the two sides to make full use of the strategic
economic dialogue (SED) to address issues of common concern.
Hu said the development of bilateral economic ties have not only
brought tangible benefits to the people of both countries but have
also been engines of global growth.
He made the remarks during a meeting in Beijing yesterday with
visiting US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, who leads the US
delegation in the SED. Vice-Premier Wu Yi heads the Chinese side at
the twice-yearly forum.
Calling Paulson an old friend of China, Hu said the two sides
should ensure that the SED is coordinated well with other Sino-US
negotiation mechanisms to promote cooperation.
He also urged both countries to fully implement the follow-up
actions of the SED to further enhance strategic mutual trust and
deal with issues of mutual concern.
Paulson hailed the SED as helpful to enhancing bilateral
economic relationship; and said he will work with Wu to make the
dialogue a forum to ease friction and resolve disputes.
He added that the US is looking forward to strengthening
cooperation with China in the fields of energy, environmental
protection, food safety and finance.
Paulson joined other top Bush aides in a letter on Tuesday to
congressional leaders to head off several trade-focused bills that
are aimed at pressuring China to revalue the currency to ease the
trade imbalance.
The letter was released after Paulson met Wu on Tuesday.
Paulson told reporters late Tuesday night that he warned against
sanctioning Beijing over trade disputes and called for more
dialogue.
Paulson held another private meeting with Wu last night before
leaving Beijing for home.
(China Daily August 2, 2007)
