Xi Jinping Meets US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew

Xi Jinping Meets US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew

The new president of China, Xi Jinping, promised to work with the United States. He also acknowledged the differences between Washington and Beijing.

The comments of the newly-installed president were made during his meeting with Jack Lew, the Treasury Secretary of the United States at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

He indicated that the US and China have a number of shared interests, although the two countries also have a number of differences. However, the two sides can maintain the direction of their relationship if they look at its long-term and strategic importance.

Lew also talked about the importance of the relationship between the two countries. He told Xi Jinping that the two biggest economies in the world have the responsibility of maintaining the stability and sustainability of the global market.

Lew said that the Chinese president showed commitment in building a relationship where they cooperate on economic and strategic issues. It also indicates that both sides understand their responsibilities even as they have to deal with their differences.

He also advocated the reduction in trade and investment obstacles as the US is looking at the growth of China as a major market for foreign products. A number of intellectual property rights, economic and currency issues have affected the relationship of the two countries recently.

The Treasury Secretary was also expected to discuss the computer hacking issue with Xi Jinping. President Barack Obama expressed his concern on cyber attacks on the US last week and he indicated that they appear to have come from China and are sponsored by the state. The allegations were denied by China as it indicated that computer attacks coming from the US also affected them.

This is the first high-level discussion for both countries ever since Xi Jinping took over the presidency of the world’s most populous country.

Posted by James Fried on Tuesday March 19 2013, 4:26 PM EST. Ref: VOA News. Link. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, World. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0