US woes 'will not hurt ties'

The US recession is not expected to affect overall China-US relations, the visiting US secretary of commerce said.

Carlos Gutierrez said he hopes the US economy's downturn wouldn't impact the countries' relationship, because bilateral relations are "bigger than" a single economic element, he told China Daily in an exclusive interview in Beijing yesterday.

"Today, we are going through a correction, and maybe one day, the Chinese economy will go through a correction," he said. "But that should not impact our fundamental relationship; that is one of our partnerships and one of our shared commitments."