President Hu Jintao and his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama met Monday in Seoul to discuss bilateral ties and major world and regional issues of common concern.

The meeting, which came on the sidelines of the Seoul Nuclear Security Summit scheduled for Monday and Tuesday, was the two leaders' first this year.

China-U.S. relations are one of the most important bilateral relationships in today's world. In the past 40 years since their diplomatic normalization, bilateral ties have forged ahead and made historic achievements despite twists and turns, bringing huge benefits to both countries and peoples.

In January last year, Hu paid a visit to the United States, during which the two countries agreed to build a cooperative partnership based on mutual respect and mutual benefit.

Last year, two-way trade between the two countries stood at 440 billion U.S. dollars, and mutual visits exceeded 3 million.

In February, Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping visited the United States to implement the important consensuses reached by Hu and Obama.

China and the United States should view and handle bilateral ties from a strategic and long-term perspective, said Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi at a press conference earlier this month.