China sees the first Sino-US strategic economic dialogue as an opportunity to
correct misunderstandings between the two sides, Vice-Premier Wu Yi said
yesterday at the start of the talks.
"We have had the genuine feeling
that some American friends not only have a limited knowledge of, but harbour
much misunderstanding about, the reality in China," Wu told US Treasury
Secretary Henry Paulson, who led the American delegation.
"The dialogue
is conducive to enhancing trust and dispelling suspicion to strengthen the
dialogue between China and the United States in the economic field," Wu
said.
Led by Wu and Paulson, more than 20 senior policy makers from Beijing and Washington started the two-day meeting in the
Great Hall of the People.
In her keynote speech, Wu pledged that China
would continue reforms and broaden the level of opening-up by improving the
legal and policy system and strengthening protection of intellectual property
rights.
She elaborated on China's adherence to peaceful development,
reform and opening-up.
"China's development will not pose any threat; it
offers opportunities to the world," Wu said.
She said China is rapidly
increasing imports to offset the trade surplus with the US and strive for a
trade balance.
Paulson said he agreed with Wu that the US needs to better
understand China's drive to reform its economy.
"But having said that,
there's certain things that there's plenty of understanding on," he said after
the first day of talks.
"There's no lack of understanding about currency
flexibility or intellectual property and those kinds of issues."
While
describing the talks as "productive and informative interchanges," he said it
was not reasonable to expect that, after only two days of talks, concrete
agreements would be announced.
"It wouldn't be much of a dialogue if you
could come in and, in two days, sit down and announce major breakthroughs," he
said.
"The kinds of issues we are working on are ones that are very
fundamental and very long-term," the US treasury chief said.
Paulson
said that when the talks wind up today, they might be able to set out "work
plans" to move forward on resolving some of the economic issues that each sees
as important.
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