China and the United States have agreed to hold a third strategic and economic dialogue from May 9 to 10 in Washington, D.C., said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu in Beijing on Tuesday.

The third China-U.S. Strategic and Economic Dialogue will be held in the context of a new background, Jiang told a regular news briefing.

She said China-U.S. relations currently face new development opportunities based on Chinese President Hu Jintao's successful visit to the U.S. in January and the important consensus reached by the two leaders on building a bilateral cooperative partnership based on mutual respect and benefit.

China expects the meeting to be focused on implementing the terms of the consensus reached by the two leaders in January, Jiang said.

"We hope to exchange views with the U.S. on the overall, strategic and long-term issues concerning bilateral relations as well as international and regional issues of common concern," she said.

China also hopes the meeting will increase mutual understanding, promote mutual trust and advance bilateral cooperation, she added.

According to Jiang, officials from more than 20 Chinese Government agencies will participate in the dialogue, including the Foreign Ministry, National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Commerce and the People's Bank of China.

(Xinhua News Agency May 3, 2011)