Senior officials of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the U.S. Democratic and Republican Parties on Friday concluded a two-day meeting designed to promote party-to-party exchanges.

The second high-level dialogue was co-chaired by Wang Jiarui, visiting head of the International Department of the CPC Central Committee, and former U.S. secretary of state Madeleine Albright and former assistant secretary of state Richard Williamson, who represented the Democrats and the Republicans respectively.

During the two-day event, the two sides conducted candid, open and in-depth dialogues over governance philosophy and practices, China-U.S. relations as well as major international and regional issues of common interest.

The CPC delegates introduced the main content and significance of the CPC proposals on the 12th five-year plan and elaborated on the CPC philosophy and practices of pursuing scientific, peaceful and harmonious development and its policies on major domestic and international issues.

Delegates of the Democratic and Republican Parties provided separate briefings on the current political and economic situation in the United States and major opportunities and challenges facing the country.

Wang said that through the dialogues, both sides have realized that as major political parties of the biggest developing country and the most developed country respectively, they are faced with similar tasks in the 21st century.

If the two sides conduct exchanges through candid communication from a strategic and long-term perspective, he said, it would be of great importance to a positive, cooperative and comprehensive Sino-U.S. relationship in the 21st century.

Wang hoped that both sides would continue to exchange views on global challenges, major international affairs and key issues in bilateral relations in the future in an attempt to consolidate the political basis for the China-U.S. relationship.

Albright and Williamson said the success of both the first and second high-level dialogues demonstrated strong desires from both sides to increase exchanges and the great importance both have attached to the party-to-party dialogue channel.

This mechanism has opened a new chapter of direct exchanges and communication between political parties of the two countries and constituted a new channel of strategic communication and all-around cooperation between the two countries, they said.

Albright and Williamson said the dialogue mechanism has become an important component of a maturing bilateral relationship in the 21st century and has provided fresh impetus for its growth.

Both sides agreed to hold the third high-level dialogue at an appropriate time.

(Xinhua News Agency December 4, 2010)