U.S. and Chinese diplomats discussed ways that the world's top two economies could promote balanced growth and a recovery from the global financial recession, the State Department said Saturday.
During a Thursday-Saturday visit in Beijing with senior Chinese officials, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State William Burns also discussed the countries' priorities for major upcoming international meetings, including the G20 Summit next week, and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum and East Asia Summit in November.
Burns "underscored the importance of efforts by both the United States and China to promote global economic recovery and balanced growth, and to enhance security, stability and growth in Asia," the State Department said.
The U.S. and Chinese diplomats also "discussed ways in which the two countries can work together" on regional and international challenges in places like Afghanistan, North Korea, Iran and the Middle East.
Burns discussed human rights and land disputes between China and rival Taiwan on the South China Sea, according to the State Department.
China claims all of the South China Sea, including hundreds of Spratly islands and reefs. Taiwan, Vietnam, Brunei, China, Malaysia and the Philippines claim all or part of the Spratlys, which could lie on top of large oil reserves.
Washington recently has expressed concerns that rival claimants to the disputed islands are building up their arms.
Senior officials also have shown disapproval over the human-rights situation in China, after Beijing launched one of its biggest crackdowns on dissent in years in response to the wave of pro-democracy uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa.
Burns and the Chinese diplomats "agreed on the importance to our two countries of maintaining positive bilateral relations, while also addressing ways in which the United States and China could build strategic trust and avoid misunderstandings and misperceptions," the State Department said.
National Security Council Senior Director for Asian Affairs Daniel Russel and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian Affairs Kin Moy joined Burns for the talks.
Burns met with Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo, Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, the Communist Party's international department chief Wang Jiarui, Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Zhijun, Vice Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai and Ma Xiaotian, deputy chief of general staff, according to the State Department.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2011
