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Senior official says US, China ties strengthening
2009-01-09
BEIJING - China and the United States are "increasingly interdependent" following three decades of building close economic and political ties, a senior U.S. diplomat said Thursday. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte was in China on a two-day visit to commemorate 30 years of diplomatic relations between the countries as well as deliver a farewell from the Bush administration. Negroponte said at a news conference at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing that the strengthened ties reinforce "a view that we are increasingly interdependent. That requires we conduct the relationship on a very mature basis and that's what we sought to do." Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said at a separate press briefing that the two nations are at a "new historical point" and should "strengthen dialogue and cooperation." "Of course, the countries differ in a lot of things ... but in comparison with our shared interest and responsibilities in safeguarding world peace, stability and prosperity, the differences are less important," he said. Negroponte, who has held talks with Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi and other senior Chinese leaders, said he believes President George W. Bush has left a strong record on U.S.-China ties, noting cooperation on security issues including denuclearization on the Korean peninsula as well as booming trade and economic dialogue. The two main areas of focus in the future will be regional and global security issues as well as the ongoing financial crisis, he said. Negroponte said he goes back to Washington with a message that China is ready and eager to talk with the new Obama administration. Washington and Beijing established formal ties on Jan. 1, 1979, eight years after the Nixon administration initiated a Cold War alliance against the Soviet Union. U.S.-China contacts have expanded, from booming economic ties and student exchanges, to close consultation on international issues such as North Korea's nuclear program and climate change.
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