Chinese President Hu Jintao and his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama have agreed to work together to build a positive, cooperative and comprehensive relationship in the 21st century.

Chinese President Hu Jintao (L) shakes hands with U.S. President Barack Obama during their meeting in London, Britain, on April 1, 2009.[Ju Peng/Xinhua]

The two leaders were meeting on Wednesday, ahead of the G-20 Summit in London. It was their first face-to-face meeting since Obama took office. Zhang Yajing has the story.

Meeting on the sidelines of Thursday's G-20 summit in London, President Hu Jintao praised China-U.S. ties saying they have gotten off to a good start since the new US administration came into office. During their talks, the two sides reached consensus on the future of China-US relations in the new era and on the establishment of a "China-US Strategic and Economic Dialogues" mechanism. The first round of the dialogues will begin in Washington this summer.

President Hu Jintao designated Vice Premier Wang Qishan and State Councilor Dai Bingguo to serve as China's special representatives for the dialogues. Meanwhile, President Obama named Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner as his special representatives.