Chinese Premier Calls for More Cooperation with U.S.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao met with U.S. President Barack Obama on Thursday in New York, focusing on bilateral ties and regional and world issues and calling for more cooperation.

China and the United States can deepen their cooperation on significant international affairs and major regional issues as well as on efforts to handle global financial woes and climate change, Wen said.

He said China and the United States could forge an even closer and wider-ranging trade and financial relationship.

At the beginning of the meeting, Wen said the China-U.S. relationship has advanced beyond the bilateral scope and has a major impact on the world.

The common interests of the two countries far outweigh their differences, Wen said.

Although there exist differences between China and the United States, the problems can be well solved through dialogue and cooperation, the premier said.

Obama, for his part, noted that since taking office, he has had good cooperation with the Chinese leadership. The United States will continue to enhance its ties with China on the basis of common interests and mutual respect, Obama added.

The two sides have already cooperated on a range of important issues, including the global financial crisis, and have also cooperated well under the G20 framework, the president said.

With the global economic situation gradually restoring stability, Washington and Beijing need to consolidate cooperation to fight nuclear proliferation and climate change, Obama added.

"On economic terms, it is important for us to have frank discussion and to work cooperatively in order to achieve a type of more balanced and sustainable economic growth," the president said.

"We also have to work cooperatively together to achieve regional peace and stability" because the world regards the China-U.S. relationship as a critical ingredient on a whole range of security issues around the world, he added.

Also on Thursday, Wen stressed at the annual general debate of the UN General Assembly that China remains a developing country and will stick to the path of peaceful development for the common good of mankind.

While China's gross domestic product is the third largest in the world, the per capita figure is only one tenth of that of developed countries, Wen said.

China has enjoyed over 30 years of fast growth, but its further development faces energy, resources and environmental constraints, the premier noted in his speech, titled "Getting to Know the Real China."

"Taken as a whole, China is still in the primary stage of socialism and remains a developing country. These are our basic national conditions. This is the real China," said Wen.

In the coming decades, China will continue to move forward along the path of reform and opening-up and peaceful development, and there is no reason whatsoever for China to deviate from it, Wen added.

The Chinese premier also called for common security and lasting peace in the world when addressing the UN Security Council summit.

In his speech entitled "Realize Common Security, Build Lasting Peace," Wen said the current international security situation is on the whole stable, but faces an increasing number of instable and uncertain factors.

He said the UN Security Council, as the core of collective security mechanism, should further increase its authority and shoulder more responsibilities in safeguarding international peace and security.

On Thursday, Wen also met with former U.S. President Bill Clinton. During the meeting, Wen said political and strategic mutual trust is the key to the further development of China-U.S. relations.

Wen said such a trust is the prerequisite and guarantee for the further growth of their bilateral relations. He noted that China-U.S. relations are currently at a crucial juncture, but on the whole, their common interests outweigh differences and disagreements.

For his part, Clinton said the coming decade is very important for U.S.-China relations, and the two countries should strengthen cooperation to face together various challenges. This will help the international community to regain and enhance confidence.

Wen left New York for home on Thursday after winding up a tightly scheduled three-day visit here.

(Xinhua News Agency September 24, 2010)