Sino-US Relations

Wen: More interests than differences in Sino-US ties

By Zhang Yuwei (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2010-09-24 14:03

United Nations - On the sideline of the general debate of 65th session of the UN General Assembly, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao met with US President Barack Obama Thursday.

The 75-minute bilateral meeting focused on regional and world issues and called for more cooperation.

Premier Wen said 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 crisis and climate change.

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"China and the United States have also embraced an even closer and bigger relationship in the fields of public finance, financial industry and economic cooperation and trade," he said.

The China-US relationship has advanced beyond the bilateral scope and has a major impact on the world, Wen said.

"Our common interests far outweigh our differences," he said.

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

Commenting on the bilateral meeting, Jamie Metzl, Executive Vice President of Asia Society said the China-US relationship "is the most important bilateral relationship in the world" and "the two countries are deeply interdependent."

"Both countries need each other and it would be almost suicidal for either country to deny this. Whatever their differences, the two countries must collaborate as much as possible and ensure that points of difference can be handles in a respectful and effective manner," he told China Daily.

The meeting at the United Nations added to the increasing number of meetings held between Chinese and American leaders since Obama took office in 2009.

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

"We have worked together on a whole range of issues. Obviously one of the most important issues has been to deal with the financial crisis and the recession that traveled around the world over the last several years,” Obama said, adding that the G20 cooperation has been absolutely critical.

"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," said Obama.

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

Metzl said because of China's global importance, it needs to be part of the solution to global challenges. "China must articulate and play a more active role in promoting a world order that benefits everyone," he said.

"The United States has not been perfect in doing so over the past 65 years – far from it. But the US has taken the lead in building an international order where all states sacrifice some of their sovereignty for the greater good," he noted.

Believing that China can and must do better, Metzl said, "We all welcome China's growing power, but with it comes new responsibility that all friends of China hope China will assume."

Wen arrived in New York on Tuesday evening and attended a series of UN meetings including the Millennium Development Goals Summit and the general debate of the 65th session of the UN General Assembly.