Chinese President Hu Jintao and U.S. President Barack Obama attend a joint press conference at the White House in Washington, the United States, Jan. 19, 2011. [Li Xueren/Xinhua]

The Chinese president added that he and Obama also discussed some agreements in the economic and trade area, with both sides pledging "to continue to appropriately resolve these according to the principle of mutual respect and consultation on an equal footing."

Also on Wednesday, Hu attended a lavish state dinner and a welcoming ceremony hosted by Obama.

Hu told the Americans on several occasions in Washington that the purpose of his visit to the United States was "to increase mutual trust, enhance friendship, deepen cooperation and advance the positive, cooperative and comprehensive China-U.S. relationship for the 21st century."

During Hu's visit, the two countries issued the "China-U.S. Joint Statement," which says that "China and the United States committed to work together to build a cooperative partnership based on mutual respect and mutual benefit in order to promote the common interests of both countries and to address the 21st century's opportunities and challenges."

"China and the United States are actively cooperating on a wide range of security, economic, social, energy, and environmental issues which require deeper bilateral engagement and coordination," the statement said.

On Thursday, Hu called upon the U.S. Congress to continue helping the two countries boost their relations.

Pursuing a healthy and steady development of China-U.S. ties is China's established policy and strategic choice, Hu stressed when meeting House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.