Obama hails US, China relationship

US president Barack Obama said on Monday that the US and China share mutual interests and can cooperate on a variety of fields.

''If we advance those interests through cooperation, our people will benefit, and the world will be better off - because our ability to partner with each other is a prerequisite for progress on many of the most pressing global challenges,'' Obama said at opening session of the first round of US-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED) at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington yesterday.

He called on the two countries to cooperate on the four fields including economic recovery, clean energy, nuclear nonproliferation and responding to transnational threats.

Obama said America and China have a comprehensive relationship that reflects the deepening ties between the two peoples.

"Our countries have now shared relations for longer than we were estranged. Our people interact in so many ways. And I believe that we are poised to make steady progress on some of the most important issues of our times," he said.

Obama said no nation can meet the challenges of the 21st century on its own, which "only makes US-China dialogue more important."