China, US pledge to move forward together

By Li Xing (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-11-18 07:34

Chinese President Hu Jintao(R) shakes hands with visiting US President Barack Obama after they meet the press at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Nov. 17, 2009. [Xinhua]

China and the United States pledged Tuesday to work together on a wide range of issues, including anti-terrorism initiatives and law enforcement cooperation and to talk about manned space flights and space exploration.

President Hu Jintao and visiting US President Barack Obama also agreed to develop a "partnership" to deal with global challenges, including climate change, the economic recovery and nuclear non-proliferation during their talks in Beijing.

The leaders also agreed that "each country and its people have the right to choose their own path, and all countries should respect each other's choice of a development model," according to a joint statement released by the nations Tuesday.

Hu will visit the US next year at the invitation of Obama, the statement added.

"The two sides reiterated that the fundamental principle of respect for each other's sovereignty and territorial integrity is at the core of the three Sino-US joint communiqus which guide China-US relations," the statement said.

Obama reaffirmed Washington's commitment to the one-China policy and told journalists: "The US respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of China."

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The leaders stressed they will also work together for a "positive outcome" at the Copenhagen Climate Summit.

China has a clear and consistent goal on the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula, Hu said, adding that Beijing hopes all parties will make the best of the opportunities and return to the negotiating table.

Echoing Hu, Obama said the US also wants to see the resumption of Six-Party Talks and will push for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

Hu said the many agreements resulted from "frank, constructive and fruitful" discussions that he and Obama had Tuesday in the Great Hall of the People.

Both leaders "agreed to continue to adopt strategic and long-term perspective, increase dialogue, exchanges and cooperation and work together to build a positive, cooperative and comprehensive China-US relationship for the 21st century," Hu said when he met the press alongside Obama after the talks.

The leaders' press conference and the official welcoming ceremony were broadcast live on China's national television network CCTV.

Both heads of state were committed "to take concrete action to steadily grow a partnership between the two countries to meet our common challenges," Hu said.

"We meet here at a time when the relationship between the US and China has never been more important to our collaborative future," Obama told reporters.

"The major challenges of the 21st century - from climate change and nuclear nonproliferation to economic recovery - are challenges that touch both our nations; challenges that neither can solve by acting alone," Obama said.

Hu also championed more cooperation, stressing the need to steadily increase strategic mutual trust between the countries, which would be preceded by respect and accommodation of each other's core interests and major concerns.

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