Since Obama took office two years ago, the overall development of Sino-U.S. relations is stable despite disputes over issues related to Taiwan, Tibet, RMB exchange rate and trade between the two countries. Hu and Obama agreed to build "a positive, cooperative and comprehensive China-U.S. relationship for the 21st century" during their first meeting in London in April 2009.

Chinese President Hu Jintao (C, front) arrives at Washington, the United States, on Jan. 18, 2011. Hu Jintao landed here Tuesday for a four-day state visit. [Huang Jingwen/Xinhua]

In November 2009, Obama paid a state visit to China, during which the two sides reiterated in a joint statement that "they are committed to building a positive, cooperative and comprehensive China-U.S. relationship for the 21st century, and will take concrete actions to steadily build a partnership to address common challenges."

In the past two years, Hu and Obama met several times to discuss how to boost the bilateral ties and how to address major world and regional challenges.

The two sides have established the China-U.S. Strategic and Economic Dialogues and the high-level consultation on people-to-people exchange, setting up unique and effective platforms to enhance mutual trust and cooperation between China and the United States.

In the past two years, China and the United States maintained close contact and coordination in tackling the international financial crisis, pushed forward the reform of global economic governance and played an important role in spurring world economic recovery.

The two countries have also expanded mutually beneficial cooperation in the areas of economy, trade, energy, environment, culture, counter-terrorism, and law enforcement.

China and the United States are now each other's second largest trading partner. The two-way trade between the two countries is expected to top 380 billion U.S. dollars in 2010. China has been the fastest-growing major export market of the United States for nine consecutive years.