Hillary Rodham Clinton visited China from Feb. 20 and Feb. 22 as the U.S. Secretary of State. On her trip to China, Hillary said, she was not only "to heed" but "to explore with Chinese to be partners". Her previous trip was made more than 10 years ago when she was US first lady. For China, this passing decade is a decade of immense changes and, for the Sino-US relations, it is a decade of continuous development in bilateral ties on the whole.

In order to safeguard the outcome of the relationship, the new U.S. government needs to heed more about "the voice of China", so as to acquaint itself with China's changes and, for the sake of furthering bilateral ties, both countries need to explore a possibility for increasing the space for cooperation on the precondition of existing outcomes.

During her visit in China as the U.S. Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton met with Chinese President Hu Jintao, Premier Wen Jiabao and State Councilor Dai Bingguo, and conferred with Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, with whom she discussed bilateral ties on a range of issues of mutual concern from bilateral cooperation to the global financial crisis and reached a series of consensuses.

These consensuses include joint efforts to ensure the success of an anticipated meeting between the two heads of state during the G-20 April financial summit in London, the agreement reached in principle on the Sino-US strategic economic dialogues and the enhancement of bilateral exchanges and cooperation in energy and environmental spheres.

The message sent by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during her trip indicates great importance the Obama administration has attached to US-China ties since taking office, and its readiness to coordinate and cooperate with the Chinese side on a range of major global issues. This poses a favorable factor to the growth of bilateral ties in the next few years. To date, bilateral communication and consultation mechanisms are taking or have taken shape at varied layers, and people believe that these mechanisms will be advanced and strengthened.

It is now particularly important for the in-depth growth of Sino-US ties against a backdrop of ever-spreading global financial crisis and in face of various protruding global challenges. China and the U.S. have every reason to pull together and contribute to an early recovery of world economy. The two nations should strive together to help settle a range of global issues and go on deepening their bilateral cooperation through such joint efforts.

With different national conditions, China and the U.S. still have differing views on some issues and it is hard for them to avert frictions at times. Sino-U.S. bilateral relations, however, can keep away from interferences and undue harms as along as the two nations proceed from a strategic height with long-term perspective and in a spirit of equality and mutual benefit, mutual respect and non-interferences in each other's internal affairs and by effectively and practically respecting and accommodating each other's core interests.

During his meeting with visiting Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, President Hu Jintao said "China and the United States, both as major influential countries in the world, share broad common interest and bear significant responsibilities on major issues concerning peace and development of the world." He acknowledged that Sino-US relations represent one of the most dynamic and important bilateral relations in the world of the 21st century.

Meanwhile, Hillary told President Hu Jintao during the meeting that "the China-U.S. relationship has entered a new era of positive cooperation since the two sides share broad common interest on a host of fields and global issues," adding that "the United States is willing to further enhance cooperation with China in various fields."

As the biggest developing nation and the biggest developed country on earth, China and the United States should work to respond to challenges together, and their concerted efforts are not only conducive to the two countries and their people but also contribute tremendously to the world peace and development.

By People's Daily senior reporter Zhong Sheng and translated by PD Online


http://paper.people.com.cn/rmrb/html/2009-02/25/content_199595.htm