Visiting top Chinese legislator Wu Bangguo on Wednesday afternoon met Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell in the Capitol, exchanging views on bilateral relations, inter-parliamentary exchanges and other issues of common concern.

Speaking of his visit, Wu, chairman of the Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress, said he felt strongly that the US government and the opposition, no matter whether Democrat or the Republican, reached consensus on developing relations with China, expected the two countries to further strengthen cooperation and were willing to make efforts in this respect.

More than three decades had passed since China and the United States established diplomatic relations and the two countries had seen sound development in the bilateral ties, Wu said.

The rapid development of economic and trade ties between the two countries fully demonstrated that bilateral cooperation not only benefited the two countries and the two peoples, but also peace and development in the world, he added.

Sound political relations should boost the development of economic and trade ties between the two countries, Wu said, while the promotion of economic and trade ties would definitely push forward bilateral relations in the long run.

Although bilateral trade and investment had dropped due to the international financial crisis, the basic patten that the two countries were economically complementary remained unchanged, Wu said, noting that they still enjoyed great potential in cooperation.

Wu indicated both sides should strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation in the fields such as high-technology, new energy, energy-saving and environmental protection.

He said enterprises in China and the US should be encouraged to seek new business opportunities in both governments' implementation of economic stimulus plans and economic restructuring strategies, and to cultivate new growth points in cooperation.

Wu pointed out that inter-parlimentary exchanges should be guided by the overall development situation of the two countries and be adapted to new situations and requirements.

Such interactions should boost pragmatic cooperation between both sides in a variety of fields, particularly in the economic and trade sphere, so that it could become a positive force in the development of Sino-US relations and bilateral economic and trade ties.

During the meeting, both Reid and McConnel expressed their view that the US economy and that of China, both of which were world leaders, had their respective advantages and strong momentum of growth, as well as much room for cooperation.

An increasing number of US senators were becoming keenly interested in the development of relations with China, hoping that both countries join hands in dealing with the international financial crisis and climate change, to make contributions to the further development of bilateral economic and trade relations, said the senate leaders.

The two sides also exchanged views on other global and regional issues of common concern.

Wu is on a week-long official goodwill visit to the United States, the final leg of his three-nation tour, which also took him to Cuba and the Bahamas.

(Xinhua News Agency September 11, 2009)