A lot of work ahead of us: Clinton on ties with China

Chinese President Hu Jintao on Friday hailed the "positive results" of the latest round of Security and Economic Dialogue between China and the United States which was held under the shadow of a dissident seeking refuge in the American embassy in Beijing.

Hu lauded the talks and appreciated the "excellent work" of the teams from the two countries when US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Treasury Secretary Timothey Geithner, who headed the American delegation, called on him on Friday.

During the meeting with President Hu, Clinton said the US-China relationship is stronger than it has ever been.

"There is a lot of work ahead of us, but we find more and more opportunities for cooperation," state-run Xinhua news agency quoted Clinton as saying.

Hu inaugurated the two-day talks on Thursday, calling on the two countries to work a "new type of relationship" to break the traditional belief that big powers only have conflicts.

"To build a new type of relationship between China and the United States, we need to trust each other," Hu said.

Hu called on China and the US to break from the traditional belief that large powers will enter into conflicts and seek new ways to develop ties between major countries.

"Whatever changes may take place in the world and no matter how the domestic situations in our two countries may evolve, China and the United States should be firmly committed to advancing the cooperative partnership and building a new type of relationship between major countries that is reassuring to people from both China and the United States as well as people around the world," Hu said.

The dialogue was overshadowed by the issue of blind Chinese rights activist Chen Guangcheng seeking shelter in the US embassy.

He was brought out by the American officials and admitted to a hospital the day before the dialogue started.

Since then, he has sought political asylum for him, his wife and two children, fearing reprisals from the Chinese government.

Initiated by the heads of state of the two countries, the annual dialogue has become a major channel for high-level communication between China and the US.

The heads of more than 20 government agencies on both sides have attended the gathering in Beijing this year.