Obama applauds China-US high-level talks

WASHINGTON - US President Barack Obama on Thursday praised the positive results of the just-concluded fifth China-US Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED), vowing to work with Beijing to build a new type of relationship.

Obama made the remarks at a White House meeting with two Chinese co-chairs of this round of S&ED, Vice Premier Wang Yang and State Councilor Yang Jiechi.

Wang and Yang conveyed to Obama a verbal message from Chinese President Xi Jinping, with whom Obama held a historic summit at the Annenberg estate in California on June 7-8.

In the message, Xi also lauded the achievements of this round of annual S&ED talks, adding that, in the next phase, the two sides should advance the China-US ties in the direction set by the Annenberg summit, through actively expanding bilateral, regional and global cooperation, and properly handling sensitive issues concerning each other's vital interests.

Xi reiterated the hope that China and the United States will wholeheartedly push forward bilateral relations based on mutual respect and win-win cooperation.

Obama expressed his appreciation to Xi for his important message, while praising the two sides for the results of the two-day S&ED talks that started Wednesday. Saluting the Annenberg summit with Xi as a huge success, he expressed his full confidence in the future development of bilateral ties.

Wang and Yang noted that the latest S&ED talks have reached a series of important consensus on some pressing issues, including climate change, energy security, cyber security, trade and investment promotion and financial cooperation, thanks to the personal push by the two presidents and the hard work of both teams.

The construction of a new type of major-country relationship, a consensus reached at the Xi-Obama summit, not only reflects the common wish of the international community, but also conforms to the fundamental interests of both countries, they added.

Standing at a new starting line of the bilateral ties, China is willing to work together with the United States to deepen practical cooperation in various areas, properly manage disputes and frictions, and advance bilateral ties, they said.

The two sides also exchanged views on issues including the situation on the Korean Peninsula, Cyber security, and territorial disputes in East and South China Seas.