Fears over China-US economic talks baseless

The fourth China-US Strategic Economic Dialogue will take place in Annapolis, capital of the state of Maryland, on Tuesday and Wednesday local time. The choice of the beautiful seaside town to convene the meeting in a way reflects the special importance of the talks.

Several aspects of this round of the talks are "new". The first is a new situation. On the US side the presidential election campaigns have entered the white-hot stage; the country's economic prospect remains uncertain with the impacts of the subprime crisis still felt strongly; President George W. Bush's term in office is approaching its end, while the nation is somewhat unsure where its development is headed.

On the Chinese side, post-quake relief and reconstruction, stabilizing the stock markets and preparations for the Olympic Games are all testing the nation's social and economic resilience and development potential.