Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo said in Washington on Monday that the discussion with US State Secretary Hillary Clinton was "a good beginning" for the China-US strategic and economic dialogue, calling on both sides to cherish and further develop their positive ties.

Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo (1st L) delivers a speech while US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (2nd R) and US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner (1st R) listen to during the opening ceremony of the China-US Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED) in Washington, the United States, July 27, 2009. [Zhang Yan/Xinhua]

At a joint news briefing with Clinton on Monday afternoon, Dai said that the China-US relations, forged through the efforts by the older generations of leaders of both countries over three decades, have achieved great progress.

"Both sides should fully cherish, maintain and develop the relations," Dai said.

He said he and Clinton discussed bilateral ties and issues of common concern.

For her part, Clinton said she had "a very good discussion" with Dai.

"We had an excellent day," Clinton said, referring to the first day of the strategic and economic dialogue, which opened in the US capital on Monday morning.  

The China-US strategic and economic dialogue, the first of its kind between the world's biggest developing country and largest economy, was jointly initiated by Chinese President Hu Jintao and US President Barack Obama during their meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in London on April 1.

The new mechanism is a reincarnation of a biannual Strategic Economic Dialogue set up by the two countries in 2006 and a vice-ministerial Strategic Dialogue launched in 2005.

As special representatives of each country's head of state, Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan co-chaired the "Economic Track" of the dialogue with US Treasure Secretary Timothy Geithner, while Dai co-chaired the "Strategic Track" with Clinton.

The "Economic Track" and the "Strategic Track" hold respective closed-door dialogues on Monday and Tuesday.

(Xinhua News Agency July 28, 2009)