Chinese President Hu Jintao on Friday met with U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, special envoy of President George W. Bush. Hu hailed the fruitful results of the fifth China-U.S.Strategic Economic Dialogue(SED).

Hu first expressed congratulations on the successful holding of the SED, saying that the dialogue co-chaired by Chinese vice Premier Wang Qishan and Paulson has achieved important consensus and fruitful results.

Echoing Hu, Paulson said the meeting was "very successful, achieved many outcomes".

"The reason for the success is that it tackles the biggest strategic issues of each other's concern."

Paulson thanked China's leadership in establishing the SED mechanism jointly with President George W. Bush, saying that the dialogue was important for bilateral economic relations, also important for both nations and for the world.

"The SED mechanism has helped keep relations progressing and moving forward during tough times, and tensions have inevitably occurred. It has been especially useful during the last few months when we tried to deal with the financial crisis," Paulson told Hu.

(Xinhua News Agency December 5, 2008)