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US, China ‘to help lead world recovery’

By Geoff Dyer in Beijing

Published: February 21 2009 14:00 | Last updated: February 21 2009 16:13

The US and China pledged to step up a high-level dialogue between the two countries which will address the global financial crisis, climate change and security issues.

Hillary Clinton, US secretary of state, said the two governments would work together “to help lead the world recovery” and that she appreciated China’s continued purchases of US Treasury bonds.

“World events have given us a full and formidable agenda,” she said. ”As we tackle it, the United States is committed to pursuing a positive, cooperative relationship with China, one that we believe is important to future peace, progress and prosperity for both countries and for the world.”

The visit to Beijing was the last and arguably the most important stage of a week-long trip to Asia that also took her to Tokyo, Jakarta and Seoul. On Saturday she met with President Hu Jintao, Premier Wen Jiabao and China’s foreign minister, Yang Jiechi, as well as visiting a gas-fueled power plant in Beijing. After going to church on Sunday and meeting with “civil society” activists, she will return to Washington.

The visit has underlined the heavy interdependence of the two countries on many important issues. While the US is the biggest national market for China’s exports, China is the largest holder of US government debt. The two countries are now the largest carbon emitters on the planet.

”I appreciate greatly the Chinese government’s continuing confidence in United States treasuries. I think that’s a well-grounded confidence,” Mrs Clinton said on Saturday.

Under the Bush administration, China and the US held a ministerial forum every six months called the Strategic Economic Dialogue. Officials said that the new dialogue would also cover security issues and that Mrs Clinton and Tim Geithner, the US treasury secretary, would both be involved, but gave no further details about how the forum would work.

Ahead of her arrival in Beijing, Mrs Clinton said that disagreements with China over Tibet and human rights should not be allowed to dominate the agenda. Speaking at a news conference with Mr Yang on Saturday, she said that there would be ”frank discussions on issues where we have disagreements, including human rights, Tibet, religious freedom and freedom of expression.”

Mr Yang said China was happy to discuss human rights with the US “on the basis of equality and noninterference”.

The low priority given to human rights issues was condemned by several human rights organisations, which produced evidence that a number of activists had been put under heavy police surveillance during Mrs Clinton’s visit.

“Secretary Clinton’s remarks point to a diplomatic strategy that has worked well for the Chinese government – segregating human rights issues into a dead-end ‘dialogue of the deaf,’” said Sophie Richardson, an Asia specialist at Human Rights Watch.