US Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson said Monday that US-China
economic relationship is vital to US future prosperity.
"Managing our economic relationship with China to ensure both
nations benefit is vital to our nation's future prosperity,"
Paulson said in his article published Monday by The Washington
Post.
"A market-based economy in China, with sustainable economic
growth and full participation in rules-based international trade,
is in our best interest -- and in the interest of the Chinese
people," he said.
The US-China economic relationship epitomizes both the
opportunities and challenges of globalization, he said in the
article titled "A Broad Dialogue With China."
The secretary said that this week a delegation made up of US
cabinet secretaries, agency directors and Federal Reserve Chairman
Ben Bernanke, will participate in the first meeting of the
Strategic Economic Dialogue between the two countries.
"My colleagues and I will meet with Chinese leaders in Beijing
for discussions in three areas: maintaining sustainable growth
without large trade imbalances; continuing to open markets to
trade, competition and investment; and improving energy security
and the environment," he said.
Paulson said that the United States and China "each have a
vision of how our relationship will evolve, and in many respects
our visions are similar."
"We both want strong commercial ties that produce benefits for
workers and consumers in America and China. We both want China to
grow in a way that is sustainable economically and environmentally
and that contributes to global prosperity," he said.
"By engaging Chinese leaders with an eye to producing long-term
benefits for our two nations, we can build a productive and
prosperous partnership for the 21st century," said Paulson.
(Xinhua News Agency December 12, 2006)