BEIJING: Chinese President Hu Jintao on Tuesday praised the Barack Obama administration for co-operating with China in dealing with the financial crisis and the two governments announced they would hold the first round of high-level strategic talks in the last week of July.The highly-anticipated “Strategic and Economic Dialogue” will, for the first time, establish a formal platform for the two countries to meet every year to discuss foreign policy and strategic issues. The first round of talks will see U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Chinese State Councillor Dai Bingguo meet in Washington D.C. to discuss foreign policy concerns, while U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Chinese Vice-Premier Wang Qishan will lead the talks on the economic front. The two governments made the announcement just as Mr. Geithner was wrapping up a three-day visit of China, his first as Treasury Secretary. Mr. Geithner has, in some sense, used this trip to lay the groundwork for the July talks, stressing the need for the two countries to work together in dealing with the financial crisis and strengthening the world economy.
“I think we’ve already demonstrated the capacity of our two countries to work together on the global stage to lay a foundation for economic recovery,” said Mr. Geithner in a meeting with the Chinese President on Tuesday. “Partly because of the strengths of the actions put in place by your government and by President Obama we are starting to see some early signs of stabilisation and recovery in the global economy.”
Mr. Hu praised Mr .Geithner’s efforts in co-operating with the Chinese administration, and said the July talks would serve as “an important platform for both nations to deepen understanding, mutual trust and co-operation.”
Mr. Geithner has also used this visit to reassure Chinese officials that the U.S. was working to tighten financial regulation and address its $1.8-trillion budget deficit. There have been increasing concerns from both Chinese officials and economists about the safety of China’s assets in the U.S. As of March, China held $768 billion in U.S. treasury securities, and is the U.S.’ biggest creditor.
