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China, US broaden forum to further ties

By Caren Bohan and Daisy Ku | Reuters

US President Barack Obama introduces China’s President Hu Jintao (L) to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at Winfield House, the US Ambassador’s residence in London, 1 April 2009. The United States and China agreed in talks between Obama and Hu to resume discussions about human rights as soon as possible, the White House said on Wednesday ahead of the G20 summit.Reuters/Jason Reed/UK

The United States and China agreed on Wednesday to broaden the remit of yearly talks between leading officials to include strategic as well as economic issues.

The White House said in a statement that the forum known as the “US-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue” would include negotiations on the economy between US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan.

It would also cover talks between Chinese State Councillor Dai Bingguo and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who looks to have ensured a leading role in dealing with Beijing by pushing for a widening of the dialogue with China.

“The two sides will hold the first round of the dialogue in Washington DC this summer,” the White House said after US President Barack Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao met at a meeting of the G20 leading and emerging economies in London.

The earlier forum under former President George W Bush had met twice a year. In Washington, Clinton and Geithner said they looked forward to the “in-depth discussions”.

On Tuesday, World Bank President Robert Zoellick urged the two powers to work more closely to haul the world economy out of recession, saying their cooperation could help stop splits forming between leading and emerging economies.

A US official said Obama had adopted a “pragmatic” approach towards China, which is particularly concerned about the US economy given it is the biggest holder of US securities of any other single nation.

Beijing has tried to raise questions about the dollar’s global status, but the idea was not discussed at the meeting.

“He (Obama) recognised that China in the last decade has greatly increased its own strength and its own role in the world and he looks to build a relationship with China where China works cooperatively to resolve these international issues,” the senior US official said of Obama’s first meeting with Hu.

Hu welcomed the meeting and said: “Good relations with the US is not only in the interests of the two peoples, but also beneficial to peace, stability and prosperity of the Asia-Pacific region, and the world at large.”

US officials said Obama also raised human rights issues such as Tibet and Darfur and the two leaders agreed to resume discussions about human rights as soon as possible.

Clinton stirred criticism from rights after she appeared to play down the importance of human rights when she visited China in February.

Copyright © 2009 Reuters

Published in Reuters website