The cooperation with China through the Strategic Economic Dialogue (SED) has yielded many results, US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson has said.

"We have learned that engagement works, and can help achieve meaningful and tangible results, which would otherwise not have been possible," Paulson told a Washington forum before the fifth SED, which starts in Beijing today.

"Engagement has helped us manage the current financial market crisis," Paulson said. Governments around the world have engaged directly and responded with actions to restore stability.

"We appreciate the responsible role China has played during the turmoil," he said on Tuesday (Wednesday Beijing time).

"We have welcomed China's active participation in the (G20) Summit on Financial Markets and the World Economy, and in multilateral mechanisms for cooperation, including APEC and the international financial institutions," he said.

The US Treasury chief said China would continue to play a key role in the world economy, and its growth offers new opportunities for US companies and consumers, as well as for the country's producers, exporters and investors.

"A stable, prosperous and peaceful China is in the best interest of the Chinese, the Americans and for people in the rest of the world," Paulson said.

The SED "has improved the relationship between our countries so much so that we can effectively manage complex issues, such as the recent global financial turmoil", he said.

"We have stood many tests and I believe we can withstand many more if we continue to engage with China as it is, and not as we would imagine it to be," he said.

(China Daily December 4, 2008)