As of 1 o'clock Wednesday morning, Beijing time, Barack Obama is the new President of the United States. And ahead of the inauguration, Chinese Foreign Spokeswoman Jiang Yu reiterated the importance of China-US relations, saying the bilateral relationship is in a significant period of development.

Chinese Foreign Spokeswoman Jiang Yu said, "China is willing to work with the US to continue to look at the bilateral ties through a strategic and long-term point of view. We hope that the two sides will increase dialogue, communication and cooperation, as well as respect each other's core interests. Hopefully, the two countries will push forward constructive and cooperative bilateral relations to a long-term healthy and steady development. "

(CCTV January 21, 2009)