US President George W. Bush met visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi in the White House on Thursday, exchanging views on bilateral relationship, the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula, the global climate change and the situation in Myanmar.

 

Yang told Bush that his successful meeting with President Hu Jintao in Australia's Sydney early this month has not only provided guidelines on how to move bilateral relationship forward, but also given new dynamics for the development of bilateral ties.

 

Yang said that China is willing to make joint efforts with the United States to advance the constructive and cooperative bilateral relationship in an all-round way.

 

Bush said he was pleased that leaders from both countries meet frequently to exchange views on bilateral and international issues of mutual concern. He said that such meetings are important and hoped that both sides could continue to communicate regularly to make common efforts in advancing ties.

 

Reaffirming China's position on Taiwan issue, Yang said that the referendum to join the UN in the name of Taiwan, which was proposed by the Taiwan authorities, is essentially designed to seek "Taiwan independence."

 

Yang hoped that the US side would handle Taiwan issue properly and work jointly with the Chinese side to safeguard peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits and the shared strategic interests of the two countries.

 

Yang, who was invited by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to attend the opening session of the "Major Economies Meeting on Energy Security and Climate Change," also met with Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and President Bush's national security advisor Stephen Hadley.

 

Yang told Paulson that China is committed to a win-win economic and trade relationship with the United States, stressing that both sides should refrain from politicizing trade disputes and resolve issues properly through consultations on an equal footing.

Paulson said the US will work with China to make preparations for the third US-China Strategic Economic Dialogue scheduled to be held in Beijing at the end of this year and make the meeting a success.

 

(Xinhua News Agency September 28, 2007)