Top Chinese legislator pledges further co-op with US

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-09-11 18:00

WASHINGTON: Visiting top Chinese legislator Wu Bangguo, in talks with US President Barack Obama here on Thursday, underlined shared interests and responsibilities between China and the United States on major international issues.

Wu, chairman of the Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress, China's top legislature, also called for strengthened dialogue and cooperation between the two countries.

Wu said that China-US relations got off to a good start and have maintained positive momentum since Obama took office in January.

Chinese President Hu Jintao and Obama have agreed to build a positive, cooperative and comprehensive relationship between the two countries in the 21st century, Wu said.

The two countries have also established the mechanism of the China-US Strategic and Economic Dialogues, and have witnessed strengthened cooperation in various sectors, including between the two parliaments, he said.

China is ready to work with the United States to handle bilateral relations from a strategic and long-term perspective, Wu said. He said China also is ready to properly tackle the remaining issues between the two countries, intensify exchanges and cooperation in various fields, and enhance coordination on international and regional problems.

In addition, Wu said, China also is willing to work with the United States to advance the development of their relationship in a positive, cooperative, and comprehensive manner.

Obama said he looks forward to meeting with Hu again during the upcoming UN General Assembly in New York and during his visit to China in November.

Obama said he has been pleased to witness a series of strategic interactions and enhanced cooperation between the two countries in the past several months.

A strong US-China strategic partnership is not only in the interests of the two countries but also of the world at large, the president said.

The United States is ready to work with the China to further promote US-China relations, Obama said.

At the invitation of the US Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, Wu arrived in Washington on Tuesday. It is the first official visit to the United States made by a Chinese top legislator in the past two decades.

The Unites States is the final leg of a three-nation America tour that also took Wu to Cuba and the Bahamas.