Chinese President Hu Jintao and US President George W. Bush
stressed on Thursday the importance to reinforce cooperation
between the two countries.
"Enhanced interactions and cooperation between China and the
United States serve the interests of our two peoples and are
conducive to world peace and development," Hu said at a welcoming
ceremony held by US President George W. Bush on the White House
South Lawn.
Hu said "the mutually beneficial and win-win China-US economic
cooperation and trade benefit our two peoples and promote the
economic growth in the Asia-Pacific region and the world at
large."
Economic cooperation and trade between the two countries "have
become an important foundation for China-US relations," Hu
said.
Hu urged the two sides to view and approach bilateral ties from a
strategic and long-term perspective.
The Chinese president said that China and the United States, as
two countries of significant influence in the world, "share
important common strategic interests in a wide range of areas,
including economic cooperation and trade, security, public health,
energy and environmental protection, and on major international and
regional issues."
"We should, on the basis of the principles set forth in the
three Sino-US joint communiques, respect each other as equals and
promote closer exchanges and cooperation," said Hu. "This will
enable us to make steady progress in advancing constructive and
cooperative China-US relations and bring more benefits to our two
peoples and the people of the world."
Hu expressed appreciation to the US commitment to one-China
policy while delivering his speech. "We will work with our Taiwan
compatriots to promote the peaceful development of cross-Straits
relations," Hu Jintao said, "however, we will never allow anyone to
make Taiwan secede from China by any means."
Bush, for his part, said, "As stakeholders in the international
system, our two nations share many strategic interests" and the two
countries share a common interest in expanding trade, which has
increased the prosperity of both peoples.
"Our trade relationship can become even stronger," said
Bush.
Bush said that the United States and China share strategic
interests in enhancing world security by cooperating in addressing
global threats including proliferation of weapons of mass
destruction, terrorism, natural disasters, as well as avian flu and
other pandemic disease.
The Chinese president arrived in Washington Wednesday evening
from Seattle. The United States is the first leg of Hu's current five-nation tour, which will also
take him to Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Nigeria and Kenya.
(Xinhua News Agency April 21, 2006)
