Seeking common grounds

In the past few decades, China and the United States - the world's largest developing and developed countries - have managed to build a mutually important relationship, despite bickering on issues like exchange rate and human rights.

To each other, China and the United States are now important economic partners with ever-expanding trade and investment ties.

A prosperous America is important to China's development, and a rich and peaceful China serves the US interests as well.

The global financial crisis has made clear the vulnerabilities of both economies and the two countries face the same daunting challenge of economic restructuring.

The good news is that while China and the United States try to solve their domestic problems, they can complement each other in the process.

For example, in the next few years, China is bent on boosting its domestic demand while reducing its dependence on exports as a major source of economic growth.

In this process, some 1.3 billion Chinese consumers, with rising income and better coverage of the social security network, are expected to buy more and more US goods and services, thus offering potentially an enormous market for the exports.

China and the United States may still differ over exchange rate, trade and macro-economic policies, but their disputes should not overshadow the fact that both have enjoyed the benefits of their pragmatic cooperation on wide-ranging economic issues.

And from a global perspective, China and America are also on the same boat, having a stake in ensuring a stable global economic, financial and trade system.

More than two years after the global financial crisis, both China and the United States have tried to learn from it, to toughen financial regulation and to balance the world economy, which will thus lay the foundation for a strong, sustainable and balanced growth.

Besides, both countries share common interests on a wide range of other international issues, from fighting terrorism, taming climate change to reducing tension of regional "hotspots."

Clearly, due to their differences in cultures, ideologies and social systems, there are still serious suspicions to be dispersed before a solid strategic trust can be built between China and the United States.

However, dialogue on the basis of equality and mutual respect is the best approach to promoting understanding and building mutual trust between countries.

In the statement issued after the Washington summit, presidents Hu and Obama reaffirmed their commitment to establishing a "positive, cooperative and comprehensive China-US relationship for the 21st century, which serves the interests of Chinese and American peoples and of the global community."

As officials sit together for the latest round of China-US Strategic and Economic Dialogue, they clearly have an opportunity, or rather a mission, to rise above differences and continue the momentum of building "a cooperative partnership based on mutual respect and mutual benefit" initiated by their leaders in January.