Premier Wen Jiabao told former US President George Bush in Beijing on Tuesday that China's peaceful development will not threaten any country and the two countries should handle bilateral issues from a strategic perspective and improve mutual trust.

Wen said China is devoted to peaceful development, which will "not only benefit the fundamental interests of the Chinese people, but also help promote world peace, stability and development."

Wen said the relationship between China and the United States, as a whole, has developed well and bilateral cooperation continues to expand.

"The Chinese government attaches great importance to China-US relations," Wen said, urging the two countries to handle bilateral issues from a strategic perspective and improve exchanges and mutual trust to boost the development of China-US constructive cooperative ties.

Wen also thanked Bush for his contribution to the stable development of China-US relations.

Bush said US-China ties are very important and the relationship is currently "in good shape."

The former US president said he believed in China's peaceful rise and would continue to make efforts to accelerate the development of bilateral ties.

Bush is in Beijing for a two-day seminar on China-US relations.

Current US President George W. Bush is scheduled to arrive in Beijing on Saturday for a three-day visit to China.

(Xinhua News Agency November 16, 2005)