U.S., China pledge to enhance relations

LONDON, April 1 (UPI) -- U.S. President Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao agreed Wednesday to enhance U.S.-China relations and strengthen economic and financial cooperation.

Obama accepted Hu's invitation to visit China this year during a meeting of the two world leaders in London, a day before the Group of 20 financial summit begins.

"The two sides agreed to work together to build a positive, cooperative and comprehensive U.S.-China relationship for the 21st century and to maintain and strengthen exchanges at all levels," a White House statement said.

China and the United States also will establish a two-track strategic and economic dialogue, with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo leading the strategic portion, and U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan heading the economic track.

The two also agreed to nurture mutually beneficial cooperation in economy and trade, counterterrorism, law enforcement, science and technology, education, culture and health, and agreed to resume a dialogue on human rights as soon as possible, the statement said.

Obama and Hu said they would resume and expand consultations on non-proliferation and other global security matters, and share a commitment to military-to-military relations.

Concerning the global economy and financial system, the two presidents pledged, "the U.S. and China will work together, as well as with other countries, to help the world economy return to strong growth and to strengthen the international financial system so a crisis of this magnitude never happens again," the statement said.