Premier meets Zoellick on strategic dialogue
(China Daily)
Updated: 2005-08-01 05:26

Premier Wen Jiabao met in Beijing yesterday with US Deputy Secretary of State Robert B. Zoellick, who is here for the first China-US strategic dialogue slated for today.

Wen and Zoellick talked for over an hour and a half. The Chinese Foreign Ministry said they exchanged views on Sino-US relations and international issues of common concern. No details were available.

Vice-Foreign Minister Dai Bingguo was present at the talks. Dai will co-chair today's strategic dialogue, according to ministry sources.

The dialogue is a result of the consensus reached between Chinese President Hu Jintao and US President George W. Bush during the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) Summit in Chile last year.

The dialogue today would be focused on China-US relations and other key international and regional issues of common concern, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said earlier in a press release.

During the two-day dialogue, Dai and Zoellick are expected to exchange views on bilateral ties and other important international and regional issues of common concern.

This is the first regular senior level meeting of its kind, and is expected to be held twice a year with Beijing and Washington taking turns as hosts.

Observers in Beijing said it is necessary to establish such high-level talks, to provide a platform to review and study bilateral ties from a strategic perspective.

They predicted that the Taiwan question and the Sino-Japanese relationship would be high on the agenda.