Framework has already made important progress

BEIJING - President Hu Jintao and United States President Barack Obama agreed to set up the mechanism of the China-US Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED) on April 1, 2009, during their first meeting, in London on the sidelines of the G20 financial summit.

The S&ED is the highest-level bilateral forum between the two nations and offers an opportunity to discuss a wide range of issues and build closer ties. Two rounds of the two-track dialogue have been held so far.

State Councilor Dai Bingguo and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton co-chair the "strategic track" of the dialogue, while Vice-Premier Wang Qishan and US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner host the "economic track".