CRI听力:China, US Officials Stress New Era of Bilateral Ties

The third round of China-US Strategic and Economic Dialogue has now opened in Washington, with high ranking officials from both sides stressing a new era of "cooperative and comprehensive" bilateral ties.

CRI's Washington correspondent Wang Shanshan has more.

Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan has opened the latest session of the S-and-ED by saying this is - quote - "a historic year of historic importance for US- China relations."

"At present, we still face many uncertainties while we are striving to tackle the global economic recession and sustain economic recovery. Against such a backdrop, economic and social development in China and the United States face both common challenges and opportunities of cooperation."

From the US side, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner says the dialogue is set to address shared economic concerns.

"Over the next two days, we will have a chance to discuss the opportunities for closer economic ties, to address areas of concerns between us, and to share perspectives on the major challenges facing each other at home and as well as the broader global economy. Overall, I believe we are making significant progress in strengthening our economic relationships."

The annual dialogue gives the world's two biggest economies a chance to manage their policy differences face-to-face, including dealing with issues like intellectual property rights, currencies, trade and the US national debt.

Chinese Commerce Minister Chen Deming is calling for the US side to ease its export controls, saying American companies are losing business opportunities and market share in China because of the current export policies.

Meantime, Geithner has acknowledged that Washington has to get its massive debt under control.

However, he also cautions that America's unemployment rate is still very high.

On the strategic front, Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo says the China-U.S. relationship is at an "extremely" important point in history.

"We have entered a new era of comprehensive and cooperative relations. The handling of various complex and thorny issues in the world today needs our cooperation and coordination more than ever. The building of our cooperative partnership reflects the reality and trend of our comprehensive cooperation and acknowledges our relationship as one of growing strategic relationship at the bilateral, regional and global levels."

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says the forum is an opportunity to "form habits of cooperation".

"Some in our country see China's progress as a threat to the United States. Some in China worry that America seeks to constrain China's growth. We reject both those views. We both have much more to gain from cooperation than from conflict. The fact is that a thriving America is good for China and a thriving China is good for America."

For his part, US Vice President Joe Biden says China's rise is a positive development not only for China but also for America and the world at large.

This year, for the first time, top military leaders from both nations are taking part in the talks as a way to open up ties on that front even more.

For CRI, I'm Shanshan reporting from Washington.