HONOLULU - Chinese President Hu Jintao and his US counterpart Barack Obama met here Saturday to discuss bilateral ties and agreed to work together to continuously strengthen the China-US cooperative partnership.

The presidents met on the sidelines of the 19th Economic Leaders' Meeting of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.

Hu said that strengthening cooperation is the sole right choice China and the United States could make.

"Developing the China-US cooperative partnership based on mutual respect and mutual benefit is a major decision that China and the United States made in accordance to their common interests, responsibilities and strategic judgment," Hu said.

He said the two countries should earnestly strengthen their cooperative partnership and strive to maintain a stable growth momentum of their bilateral ties.

"It is in the interests of the peoples of the two countries and conducive to the peace, stability and development of the world," Hu added.

The Chinese president noted that China-US relations have entered another critical period. He said both sides should promote cooperation at bilateral, regional and global levels to achieve more substantial results and ensure the steady development of China-US ties.

Hu also made a three-point proposal on advancing China-US relations.

First, he said, China and the US should become cooperative partners that respect and trust each other.

The two nations should strengthen exchanges of high-level visits, dialogues and consultations at all levels and in various areas, Hu said. They should judge each other's strategic intentions and policy directions in an objective and rational way, Hu said, while continuously enhancing strategic mutual trust.

Respecting each other's core interests is the key to the bilateral cooperative partnership, the Chinese president said, adding that China hopes Washington could properly handle the relevant issues in strict accordance with the principles set forth in the three China-US joint communiques.

Efforts should also be made to promote people-to-people exchanges between the two countries so as to enhance mutual understanding and friendship between their citizens, Hu said.

Secondly, China and the US should forge a mutually beneficial and reciprocal cooperative partnership, he said.

Both nations should strengthen economic and technological interaction and facilitate cooperation between the enterprises of both countries.

They should also actively explore new paths and expand new areas of bilateral economic and trade cooperation and try to solve problems through equal consultations in the process of expanding mutually beneficial cooperation, Hu said.

Thirdly, China and the US should become cooperative partners "in the same boat" and pull together in times of trouble.

The two nations need to join hands to deal with the current global economic situation, play a constructive role, boost market confidence and support the common goal of promoting growth and ensuring stability, Hu said.

Both countries, the Chinese president said, should also make full use of bilateral channels and multilateral mechanisms to enhance coordination in dealing with regional and global issues.

On the exchange rate of the Chinese yua, Hu said China's exchange rate policy is responsible, adding that the policy goal is to ensure a market-based and managed floating exchange rate system that takes reference to a basket of currencies.

Hu stressed that the Chinese exchange rate is not to blame for structural problems in the US, such as the trade deficit and high unemployment rate. Even an abrupt appreciation of the renminbi could not solve the problems that America faces now, Hu said.

Meanwhile, Hu urged Washington to adopt concrete measures to relax high-tech export controls to China, and to offer conveniences for Chinese companies that invest in the US

Hu said bilateral coordination and cooperation in global and regional affairs is an important pillar of the China-US cooperative partnership, and Asian-Pacific affairs should become the focus of their cooperation.

China respects the legitimate interests of the US in the Asia-Pacific region, and welcomes it to play a constructive role in the region,  Hu said.

The Chinese president hoped that Washington should respect China's legitimate regional interests and properly handle issues related to each other's interests and concerns in a bid to jointly promote peace, mutual trust and cooperation in the region.

For his part, Obama said since Hu's successful state visit to the US in January, American-Chinese relations have remained stable and made progress.

He said that strengthening cooperation between the US and China is vital for the two countries, the Asia Pacific region and the world at large.

Obama said the US will work with China to continue to expand the American-Chinese relationship in a constructive way.

He said the US welcomes a stronger, successful, prosperous and stable China to play an even greater role in international affairs. He emphasized that the US respects the legitimate interests of China in the Asia Pacific region.

Obama said the US respects the sovereignty of China, and is glad to see continuous progress made in cross-Strait relations.

The US will continue to pursue the one-China policy based on the three China-US joint communiques, and does not support "Taiwan independence."

Obama also said Washington values the efforts made by China in pushing forward bilateral trade and economic links.

He said American-China trade and economic cooperation has been continuously deepening as two-way trade and investment have reached record highs.

He said the two countries are also playing a more and more important role in promoting global economic growth.

Obama said the US is ready to work with other countries to overcome the current difficulties in the world economy and push for strong, sustainable and balanced economic growth around the world.