Chinese president meets U.S. secretary of state

2009-02-21 16:21:39  

    BEIJING, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) --

Chinese President Hu Jintao met with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton here on Saturday, stressing that it is of ever great importance to further deepen and develop Sino-U.S. relations.

    Hu appreciated Clinton for her inaugural visit to China and other parts of Asia since taking office, saying this reflects the importance the new U.S. administration puts on developing relations with China and other Asian countries.

    Clinton said she had "very good meetings" with Chinese officials during her visit, which she called the beginning of "a new era" of Sino-U.S. relations characterized by positive cooperation.

    She also conveyed President Obama's personal greetings to President Hu, saying Obama enjoyed earlier conversations with Hu and looked forward to meeting with Hu at a G20 summit in London in early April.

    Clinton said the U.S. and China had agreed in principle to start a strategic and economic dialogue between the two sides. She said President Obama and President Hu are expected to formally announce the plan in London.

    Clinton arrived in Beijing Friday evening. Beijing is the last stop of the Asian tour that took her to Japan, Indonesia and the Republic of Korea.

Wen, Clinton underline bilateral relations by citing Chinese proverbs

2009-02-21 16:42:05  

    BEIJING, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) --

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao Saturday appreciated the great importance that the Obama administration places on expanding Sino-U.S. relations.

    During a meeting with visiting U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Wen said in the face of the complicated and ever-shifting international political and economic situation, China and the United States should not only "cross the river in a common boat," but also "progress together hand in hand."

    Wen said since the two countries established diplomatic links three decades ago, history has proved that cooperation and common prosperity remain the sole correct route (for the development of bilateral relations).

    Wen called for the two sides to proceed from strategic height and long-term prospect to take care of each other's core interests, continuously enrich the content of their constructive and cooperative relations and advance bilateral links from a new starting point.

    Wen said that jointly addressing the global financial crisis provides an opportunity for China and the United States to strengthen mutual trust and cooperation. He suggested that the two countries should perfect and give full play to bilateral mechanisms, increase consultation and coordination in multilateral fields.

    Wen said the two sides should firmly oppose trade and investment protectionism in various forms.

    Wen also called for the two countries to adopt proactive measures to overcome current difficulties in economy and in the same time, focus on developing an all-round, long-term and stable relationship of cooperation.

    Wen said the two countries should work together in addressing such issues as climate change, energy security and environment protection and realizing the millennium development goals.

    Clinton said that the Obama administration was ready to tackle the financial crisis and oppose trade protectionism. She introduced the economic stimulus package of the Obama administration and expressed the appreciation of China's efforts and measures to promote economic growth. She also said that the United States wished to work together with China in coping with various challenges including the issue of development.

    Wen welcomed Clinton in Beijing as she made her first visit to China since becoming Secretary of State.

    Noting that Clinton has repeatedly voiced a willingness to develop positive and cooperative relations with China, Wen said this reflects the high importance that the Obama administration puts on developing Sino-U.S. relations.

    "As the world is faced with the grim impact of the financial crisis, I very much appreciate a (Chinese) proverb you quoted that all countries should cross the river peacefully as they are in a common boat," Wen said. The proverb is from The Art of War by SunTzi, an ancient Chinese military strategist.

    "Another saying in the book goes as 'progress together hand in hand,'" Wen said.

    Clinton echoed Wen's comment by saying China and the United States have an opportunity to work closely together in the future.

    "I quoted another Chinese proverb that 'you should dig a well before you are thirsty,'" Clinton said, referring to the need that the two countries should work together.

FM: China to have human rights dialogue with U.S.

2009-02-21 14:08:15  

    BEIJING, February 21 (Xinhua) --

China will conduct dialogues on human rights issues with the U.S. on the basis of mutual respect and noninterference in each other's internal affairs, said Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi on Saturday.

    "Although differences exist, China is willing to conduct the dialogues with the U.S. to push forward the human rights situation on the premise of mutual respect and noninterference in each other's internal affairs," Yang said.

    He made the remarks while meeting the press with visiting U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton after their talks.

    Yang said Chinese constitution ensures the basic human rights of its people, and China would exchange views with the U.S. in this regard.

    On climate changes, Yang said the two sides agree to push for the success of the Copenhagen conference to be held in December 2009.

    "The cooperation on energy resources and environmental protection is significant to the bilateral ties," he said.

    Clinton said the U.S. and China will build "an important partnership" to develop clean energy technologies and speed up the transition to a low carbon economy.

    She said useful cooperation includes renewable energy, carbon dioxide capture and storage, and energy efficiency.

    "We will hold regular consultations between senior officials of our governments on all elements on this broad collaboration," Clinton said.

    China is Clinton's last stop of her Asian tour. She is scheduled to meet with Chinese President Hu Jintao, Premier Wen Jiabao and State Councilor Dai Bingguo later Saturday.

Editor: Bi Mingxin

China stresses security, liquidity when deploying forex reserves

2009-02-21 14:03:50  

    BEIJING, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) --

China on Saturday reaffirmed its efforts to ensure security and liquidity when deploying foreign exchange reserves.

    "We did use foreign exchange reserves to buy U.S. treasury bonds. Our principle of using reserves is to ensure security and liquidity," Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi told the press following talks with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

    China replaced Japan as the top holder of U.S. treasury debt last September, with its overall holding hitting 585 billion U.S. dollars, according to U.S. Treasury data.

    Yang said China will continue to follow these principles when deciding on the ways and means of deploying the country's about two-trillion-U.S. dollar foreign exchange reserves in the future.

    Yang lauded China-U.S. trade relations, saying it generated tangible benefits to both people, particularly those with lower incomes.

    Despite the grave global financial turmoil, China-U.S. trade volume rose by 10.5 percent in 2008 to 333.7 billion U.S. dollars, according to the China's Customs.

    "We appreciated the efforts of the U.S. government to stimulate the economy and tackle the financial crisis," Yang said.

    Yang said China's four-trillion-yuan (about 580 billion U.S. dollars) stimulus package would help boost China's economy, which is the country's biggest contribution to addressing the global financial crisis.

    "Facts proved that both countries had worked very well in dealing with the crisis. We would like to work more with the United States," Yang said.

Editor: Bi Mingxin

China, U.S. to hold defense meeting

 2009-02-21 11:31:28  

    BEIJING, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) --

China and the United States are to hold an annual work meeting of their defense ministries this month, a spokesman of the Chinese Defense Ministry said in a news release.

    David Sedney, U.S. deputy assistant secretary of defense, will visit China from Feb. 27 to 28 for a meeting with the head of the Foreign Affairs Office of the Ministry of Defense of China.

    China will exchange views with the United States mainly on bilateral military relations and issues with great concern of China, said the news release.

    "China always attaches great importance to the Sino-U.S. military ties and is willing to make concerted efforts with the U.S. to enhance the communications between the two armies," it said.

    China hopes the United States to give faithful respect to China's core interests and major security concerns so as to create favorable conditions for the improvement and development of bilateral military ties, according to the release.

    Military exchanges between China and the United States have been suspended since October last year when the then Bush administration notified Congress of its plan to sell arms worth about 6.5 billion U.S. dollars to Taiwan. 

Editor: Sun Yunlong