Distinguished Under Secretary of State Paula Dobriansky, colleagues:

I am delighted to co-chair the second session of China-U.S. Global Issues Forum with Under Secretary of State Dobriansky and extend welcome to the U.S. delegation.

The deepening of globalization is a remarkable feature of today's world. We must look at the world with a global perspective and pay greater attention to conducting exchanges and cooperation, learning from each other, seeking mutual benefit, win-win outcome and common development. This is an important inspiration of the times.

While bringing about new opportunities, globalization drives some global challenges more severe. Traditional and non-traditional challenges, including the expanding gap between the rich and the poor, rampancy of terrorism, continuous environmental deterioration, spread of epidemic diseases and frequently emerging humanitarian crisis, have gone beyond national boarder, extend at various fronts including economy, society, health and security, influence the world stability and development and threaten the future of the entire mankind. It is increasingly necessary for the international community to strengthen coordination and collaboration to solve those problems.

As countries with great influence in the world, China and the U.S. share extensive strategic interests and shoulder major responsibilities to cope with these challenges. Both countries should engage in dialogue on such global issues as sustainable development, energy security, public health and humanitarian assistance and push forward the international cooperation in related areas, which not only serves the interests of our two peoples, but also contributes to stability and development of the world.

During his visit to the U.S. in April this year, President Hu Jintao reached new important consensus with President Bush on pushing forward the constructive and cooperative China-U.S. relations in all fields in the 21st century. The two heads of state agreed that China and the U.S are not only key stakeholder to each other but more importantly constructive partners. They decided to strengthen the bilateral strategic dialogue and reinforce consultation and coordination on major bilateral and international issues, which is an important guide for the healthy and stable progress of China-U.S. relations at present and in the near future. During their recent meeting at the G8 summit, the two leaders reaffirmed such consensus.

To that end, China-U.S. Global Issues Forum serves as an important platform. Last year the two countries held the first session of the forum in Washington. China believes that to strengthen consultation and dialogue between our two countries not only contributes to deepening the bilateral constructive partnership but also facilitates the settlement of some key and urgent global problems. We should conduct dialogue in the spirit of mutual respect, consultations on an equal footing, mutual benefit and win-win outcome, handle our differences in the principle of being open and inclusive, expanding common ground and reserving differences and push ahead the pragmatic cooperation in a flexible way step by step.

Today, our meeting will mainly cover six topics, including energy security & clean energy, public health, environmental protection & sustainable development, humanitarian assistance, combating trafficking in people and international development cooperation. All of them are urgent global problems faced in the process of international development cooperation. The forum will help solve those global issues if China and the U.S. can reach agreements and come up with useful thinking and initiatives in these areas.

As countries with big influence on the global energy security system, China and the U.S. should strengthen cooperation in implementing the major consensus recently reached between the leaders of the G8 and the developing nations and make our due contributions to easing the global energy security situation.

In the area of public health, China and the U.S. can reinforce cooperation in monitoring infectious diseases, promoting technological R&D and exchanges and expanding access to the treatment and preventive drugs in a bid to facilitating the global cooperation on epidemic prevention and control.

Concerning environmental protection and sustainable development, China and the U.S. can strengthen exchanges, learn from each other and work side by side to advance the global undertaking of environmental protection and sustainable development.

In terms of humanitarian assistance, I hope that China and the U.S. can discuss how to enhance the cooperation with the United Nations system in raising the global capacity of coping with humanitarian crisis, reach new consensus on the specific mode of bilateral cooperation and drive the cooperation deeper and more pragmatic.

To combat human trafficking, China and the U.S. can cooperate at the regional and sub-regional levels and continue exploring the specific model of strengthening law enforcement.

In the field of international development cooperation, both sides can exchange in-depth views on poverty eradication, development aid, development fund raising, increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of aid and the United Nations economic and social development reform and play a constructive role in pushing ahead international development cooperation.

I hope that both sides can exchange opinions on those topics extensively and deeply during this forum and achieve substantial results so as to push the bilateral cooperation on global issues to a new level. I am confident that with the joint efforts of both sides the forum will grow increasingly fruitful and contribute to the healthy development of China-U.S. relations and international development cooperation. I wish this forum a complete success.

Thank you.