China and the United States held their first round of consultations on Asia-Pacific in Honolulu Saturday, which was hailed by both sides as positive and beneficial.

The one-day closed-door consultations were co-chaired by Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai and U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell.

Calling the consultations "friendly, candid and constructive," Cui said it was the outcome of the third round of the China-U.S. Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED) held in May to implement the consensus reached by Chinese President Hu Jintao and his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama during Hu's visit to the United States in January.

The two sides praised the progress made in bilateral ties since President Hu's visit, stressing that they would continue to boost China-U.S. cooperative partnership as envisioned by the two heads of state, Cui told reporters after the talks.

They also had in-depth exchange of views on the general situation of the Asia-Pacific, their respective policies on the region and regional issues of common concern, Cui said.

The two sides agreed to use the consultation mechanism as a platform to keep close contacts and coordination on the regional situation and respective policies to advance bilateral cooperation in the Asia-Pacific and play an active role in safeguarding regional peace, stability and prosperity, he added.

Campbell, for his part, said he held "open and frank" discussions with his Chinese counterpart, with the goal of "attaining better understanding of each other's intentions, policies and actions toward the Asia-Pacific region."

"The United States reiterated that it welcomes a strong, prosperous and successful China to play a greater role in regional and world affairs," Campbell told a news briefing after the consultation.

The two sides discussed issues related to the Asia-Pacific, as well as each other's objectives at a series of meetings, including the ASEAN regional forum, APEC leaders meeting to be held in Hawaii, the Pacific Islands Forum and East Asian Summit, Campbell added.

It was also agreed that the next round of China-U.S. consultations on Asia-Pacific will be held "at a mutually convenient time."

Established during the third round of the S&ED on May 9-10 in Washington, D.C., the mechanism of China-U.S. consultations on Asia-Pacific was an important step to materialize the achievements of President Hu's U.S. tour in January as well as the consensus reached between the two countries at the latest round of the S&ED.

The creation of the mechanism would help usher in a pattern of positive interaction between China and the United States in the Asia-Pacific region so that the two countries could cooperate better to boost the region's stability and development.

(Xinhua News Agency June 26, 2011)