Secretary of State Hillary Clinton,

Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner,

Dear Colleagues,

We are gathered here today for the third round of China-U.S. Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED). On behalf of the Chinese delegation, I would like to express sincere thanks to the U.S. side for the thoughtful arrangements.

President Hu Jintao attaches great importance to the S&ED. He asked me and State Councilor Dai Bingguo to convey his greetings to President Obama, Vice President Biden, Secretary Clinton, Secretary Geithner and all those who work for the S&ED on the U.S. side. President Hu Jintao highly appreciates the important role of the S&ED in deepening understanding, enhancing strategic mutual trust, and strengthening communication and cooperation between our two countries at bilateral, regional and global levels. He hopes that both the Chinese and U.S. sides will make the most of this round of dialogues to have in-depth exchange of views on ways to further enhance strategic mutual trust and deepen practical cooperation. He looks forward to the implementation of the agreement he reached with President Obama and the advancement of the China-U.S. cooperative partnership based on mutual respect and mutual benefit.

Last January, President Hu Jintao paid a state visit to the United States. It was a historic visit which achieved great success. With vision and foresight, the two presidents opened a new page in China-U.S. relations.

Over the past 32 years since the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and the United States, China-U.S. relations have kept moving forward despite twists and turns. Our two countries differ in history, culture, development stage, resources endowment and national circumstances, but we are highly interdependent and mutually complementary economically. China and the United States are each other's second largest trading partner. The United States is China's second largest export market, and China is the fastest growing export market for the United States. Together, China and the United States account for one third of the world's GDP, and one fifth of global trade. China-U.S. relationship has far exceeded the bilateral scope and has acquired growing global significance.

We are witnessing profound and complex changes in the world economic landscape, changes that are driven by globalization. At present, we still face many uncertainties when we are striving to tackle global economic recession and sustain economic recovery. Against such a backdrop, economic and social development in China and the United States face both common challenges and opportunities of cooperation. There are both complementarities and clashes in our respective policies geared to ensure economic recovery. However, we have far more shared interests and cooperation than differences and competition. Both sides must therefore make better use of the S&ED as an overarching framework for the examination of long-term and strategic issues, and take solid steps to advance the sound development of China-U.S. economic relations.

Dear Colleagues,

The past and the present have proven, and the future will prove, that nothing can hold back the trend of China-U.S. cooperation. We have confidence in it. Our confidence comes from the broad common interests between our two countries, the shared aspirations of our two peoples, as well as from historical and philosophical reflections.

One action is better than one thousand words. Let us use the opportunity brought by the current round of the S&ED to earnestly implement the important agreement reached between our two presidents, and deepen our cooperation in economic, trade, investment, financial, infrastructure and other fields in an all-round way. By so doing, we will contribute to the strong, sustainable and balanced growth of not only our two economies but also the world economy.

I wish the third round of China-U.S. Strategic and Economic Dialogue great success.

Thank you!

(Source: www.fmprc.gov.cn)