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China, US emphasize dialogue, cooperation

By Li Xiaokun (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-11-01 07:56

SANYA, Hainan - State Councilor Dai Bingguo and visiting United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton shared a positive evaluation of recent Sino-US relations in an unofficial meeting on Saturday, stressing the two sides will continue to seriously implement the consensus reached by the two state leaders, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The two pledged to enhance dialogue, mutual trust and cooperation, properly handle differences and sensitive issues on the basis of mutual respect, while making concerted efforts to contribute to a positive, cooperative and comprehensive China-US relationship in the 21st century, the statement said.

Both sides agreed that President Hu Jintao's scheduled visit to the US early next year is of great significance to the development of bilateral ties, and that Beijing and Washington will maintain close contact in advance of the visit to ensure its success.

Dai and Clinton also exchanged views on the situation of the Asia-Pacific region and the upcoming G20 summit in Seoul.

Clinton flew to Sanya in South China's Hainan province for the unofficial meeting from the 5th East Asia Summit in Hanoi, where she was invited to attend the summit as a special guest.

While there, she met Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi earlier on Saturday on the sidelines of the summit, exchanging views on bilateral relations and issues of common concern.

According to the Associated Press, the main goal of her meeting was to "seek Chinese help in lowering tensions across East Asia", in the interest of hosting "a three-way meeting between the US, China and Japan to ease the latest regional flare-up".

Relations have been strained since collisions between two Japan Coast Guard patrol boats and a Chinese trawler on Sept 7 in waters off the Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea.

Beijing suspended all high-level contacts with Tokyo after Japan illegally detained the Chinese trawler's captain.

A senior US official who sat in on Clinton's meetings with Yang and Dai told AP on the condition of anonymity that neither Yang nor Dai indicated whether China would accept US mediation.

Chinese experts said Beijing prefers to keep bilateral problems at the bilateral level to avoid a more complex situation.

Beijing has made clear its unhappiness with comments Clinton made with the Japanese foreign minister last week - and again on Saturday - that the Diaoyu Islands are covered under a US-Japan mutual defense pact.

A statement on the Foreign Ministry's website said Yang told Clinton the US should act with discretion and avoid "irresponsible remarks" on this sensitive issue.

Tao Wenzhao, a scholar on US studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, also emphasized bilateral issues are better solved on a bilateral level, rather than involving other parties.

"And now the time is not right even for just formal talks between Beijing and Tokyo given Japan's repeated improper speeches," Tao said.

Premier Wen Jiabao did not meet his Japanese counterpart Naoto Kan on the sidelines of the summits in Hanoi, as the Japanese government had expected previously, due to repeated, inflammatory remarks over the Diaoyu Islands Japanese officials have made at the summits.

Dai also assured Clinton that China will remain a "reliable supplier" of rare earths that are key materials in producing items from cell phones to missiles, AP cited the US official as saying.

Tokyo has accused Beijing of tightening rare earth exports due to the dispute over the Diaoyu Islands. Beijing has strenuously denied the claim, and promised never to use the metal as a political bargaining chip.

Niu Xinchun, a US studies specialist at the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, said pressure on China over rare earth exports is based on nonexistent speculation - and that, were China to ban rare earth exports, there would be other sources.

"The fact is that China's rare earth reserves take up only around 30 percent of the world's total," he said.

In any case, countries like the US and Japan all have stored enough of these elements for decades of use, he added.

"And China is not going to ban the exports. It is just trying to improve the administration and normalize the undervalued low price," he said.

Ma Liyao, Xinhua contributed to this story.