US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi vowed Wednesday that their countries would cooperate closely despite differences on China's currency and other issues. "We are preparing diligently for the upcoming state visit by (Chinese) President Hu Jintao. It's very much anticipated and looked forward to," Clinton said as she posed for photographs with Yang at the State Department.
Hu is due here on January 19. "And both the minister and I feel a great sense of responsibility to ensure that it continues the positive, cooperative comprehensive relationship between our two countries," the chief US diplomat said. Yang said: "I think China-US relationship is on the right track. We are confronted with common challenges and we are enjoying common opportunities.
"It's in the best interests of China, the United States and the world for us to continue to work together so that our relationship will bring more benefits to both our two peoples and to the people of the world," he said. Preparations for Hu's visit are "proceeding very well," Yang added. As part of the preparations, Yang met US President Barack Obama at the White House on Tuesday to discuss the row over the Chinese yuan, US-China trade, Iran, North Korea and the upcoming referendum in Sudan. The White House has signalled it will keep up pressure on Beijing to allow its yuan currency to appreciate. Critics say China keeps the yuan undervalued to gain an unfair trade advantage that has cost thousands of US jobs.
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