Top Chinese legislator Wu Bangguo on Thursday discussed bilateral relations and international and regional issues of common concern with U.S. Vice President Joe Biden during a White House meeting.

Wu, chairman of the Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress, said during his meeting with Biden that China-U.S. relations are of great importance to both countries.

China and the United States, Wu said, shoulder broad common interests and demands for cooperation on important issues concerning the peace and development of the world.

Wu stressed that China is willing to enhance communications and coordination on international and regional issues with the United States. He said China also is willing to maintain a dialogue and cooperation on such issues as terrorism, non-proliferation, international crime, and the nuclear situation in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and Iran.

China's chief legislator also said his country, along with the international community, will counter the diversified challenges and maintain peace and stability in the world.

Biden said he considers U.S.-China ties the most important bilateral relationship in the world. The ties are not zero-sum, instead, the United States hopes that China can succeed, Biden said.

The vice president said China and the United States have great potential for cooperation that should be enhanced along with improved coordination between the two countries.

Biden believed that with joint efforts by both countries, the U.S.-China relationship will enjoy greater development.

Wu's visit was aimed at enhancing China-U.S. strategic mutual trust, promoting cooperation and pushing bilateral relations, including inter-parliamentary ties, to a new stage of development.

Wu was the first top Chinese legislator to visit the United States in the past two decades.

Wu also met with former Secretaries of State Henry Kissinger and Madeleine Albright at his hotel.

The legislator said he considered the two former officials old friends of China. He also appreciated the long-term commitment they have made to promoting friendship between China and the United States.

Enhancing cooperation between both countries is in line with the trend of the times and the common aspirations of the people, Wu said.

China and the U.S., Wu said, will have bright prospects as strategic mutual trust is enhanced, areas of cooperation broadened and the strategic meaning of bilateral relations enriched with a more prominent global influence.

Kissinger and Albright said that while they came from different political parties and served different administrations, they will maintain their consistent stance on U.S.-China relations. They said they would continue to promote cooperation between China and the U.S. in the future.

Wu was in Washington during a week-long official goodwill visit to the United States, the final leg of a three-nation tour to the Americas that also took him to Cuba and the Bahamas.

(Xinhua News Agency September 11, 2009)