China and the US Thursday agreed that as major international stakeholders and constructive partners the two nations could and should work together on many issues at global, regional and bilateral levels.

During the two-day second session of the China-US Global Issues Forum, which closed Thursday in Beijing, officials of the two countries discussed their activities around the world and the potential to cooperate globally on issues relating to: energy security and clean energy, public health, humanitarian assistance, trafficking in persons, environmental conservation and sustainable development, aid programs and international development cooperation.

There was agreement that China and the US could and should work together on these issues and other affairs. This would be undertaken on a basis of seeking common ground while recognizing and reducing differences and promoting cooperation.

Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai and US Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs Paula Dobriansky led inter agency delegations attending the meeting. There was participation from relevant bureaus and offices of the Chinese Foreign Ministry and US Department of State. Other agencies from the two countries were also involved.

On energy security and clean energy the two expressed their concerns about the negative impact of soaring oil prices on the world economy.

On this topic they discussed a range of global issues such as international clean energy cooperation and initiatives relating to cleaner and more efficient use of existing fuels, development of new energy technology and collaborating to improve access to cleaner and modern energy sources in poorer regions of the world.

In a session dealing with environmental protection and natural resource conservation the talks focused on ways the countries could work together to pursue sustainable development by stemming the illegal trade in wildlife and timber, combating climate change and air pollution through the development of advanced technology and clean energy and finding solutions to problems relating to water pollution. The talks also explored ways the countries could cooperate in the Commission on Sustainable Development and they discussed the newly-formed Coalition Against Wildlife Trafficking.

The humanitarian assistance and international development sections concentrated on the tools, resources, challenges and experiences of dealing with humanitarian crisis, UN reform, aid financing mechanisms and effectiveness, managing results, the governance structure for international development cooperation and potential areas for further collaboration.

The session on people trafficking focused on ways to combat this transnational criminal activity particularly through cooperation in regional and multilateral forums. The importance of protection for victims of trafficking, prosecution of those involved and prevention campaigns were all highlighted.

Discussion of public health issues included experiences with avian flu and malaria, international cooperation to enhance surveillance, prevention and control of infectious diseases and policy and technical tools to combat disease outbreaks. 

The two governments agreed to continue their dialogue on these and other issues, to review progress and determine future activities.

The first session of the forum was held in 2005 in Washington. The objective of the forum is to strengthen current cooperation between China and the US on global issues and to explore new avenues for joint initiatives on a world basis.

(Xinhua News Agency August 11, 2006)