China-U.S. Economic and Strategic Dialogue open in Washingto

WASHINGTON, July 27 (Xinhua) -- The China-U.S. Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED), the first of its kind between the world's biggest developing country and biggest developed country, opened here on Monday.

On behalf of Chinese President Hu Jintao and invited by U.S. President Barack Obama, Chinese Vice¹ Premier² Wang Qishan and State Councilor Dai Bingguo participated in the opening ceremony in Ronald Reagan Building in downtown Washington, D.C..

In a congratulatory message to the opening ceremony of the dialogue read by Wang, Chinese President Hu Jintao said that both China and the United States shoulder important responsibilities on a host of major issues concerning peace and development of mankind.

As two countries with significant influence in the world, China and the United States also enjoy extensive common interests and broad space for cooperation, Hu said.

China and the United States, in the face of the complex and changing international economic and political situation, should endeavor to expand common ground, reduce differences, enhance mutual³ trust and strengthen cooperation through the Strategic and Economic Dialogue, he said.

"This serves the common interests of the two sides and will help advance the positive, cooperative and comprehensive relationship between our two countries," said the Chinese leader in the message.

"It is also of great importance for peace, stability, development and prosperity of the whole world," he added.

Hu expressed his confidence that "with the concerted efforts of both teams, the S&ED mechanism⁴ will keep improving and growing and inject new dynamism and make new contribution to our mutually beneficial cooperation in various areas and to the growth of our positive, cooperative and comprehensive relationship."

Addressing the opening session of the dialogue, President Obama stressed the importance of cooperation between the United States and China,saying that the U.S.-China relationship "will shape the 21st century."

He hailed the dialogue as an "essential step forward "in advancing a positive and comprehensive relationship between the two countries.

"Our countries have now shared relations for longer than we were estranged⁵. Our people interact in so many ways. And I believe that we are poised⁶ to make steady progress on some of the most important issues of our times," he said.

Obama will meet with the Chinese delegation⁷ after the session.

In her opening remarks, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton extended her warm welcome to the Chinese delegation, noting that the two nations were "laying brick by brick the foundation for a stronger relationship."

The top U.S. diplomat⁸ said that economic recovery is "critical" to the world, adding that many global issues are "within reach" if the two countries work together.

To give prominence⁹ to the dialogue and the importance of U.S.-China relations, U.S. Treasury¹⁰ Secretary Timothy Geithner said at the opening ceremony in Mandarin¹¹ Chinese that "when you are in a common boat, you need to cross the river peacefully together."

State Councilor Dai also gave a short speech, saying that he is optimistic with the future of bilateral¹² relations although the two countries have differences in some areas.

According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry¹³ and the U.S State Department, Dai will co-chair the "Strategic Track" of the dialogue with Clinton, while Vice Premier Wang will co-chair the "Economic Track" with Geithner, each as a special representative of their respective presidents.

Chinese and U.S. officials will give closing statements to reporters after the dialogue and respective briefings to announce results of the dialogue.

During their stay, Chinese officials will also meet with U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, former U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, World Bank Chief Economist¹⁴ Justin Yifu Lin, congressmen and other officials.

Wang will deliver a speech at a banquet to be hosted on Tuesday evening by the National Council for U.S.-China Trade and the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations.

The dialogue mechanism was upgraded from former Strategic Dialogue and biennial¹⁵ Strategic Economic Dialogue, which were initiated¹⁶ by the two heads of state in 2005 and 2006, respectively.

Following the opening ceremony of the dialogue, officials of China and the United States will have a face-to-face plenary session before the strategic track of the S&ED to be held at the State Department Building while the economic track will first be held in Ronald Reagan Building before moving to the Treasury Department Building.

The two-day dialogue will focus on addressing the challenges and opportunities that both countries face on a wide range of bilateral, regional and global areas of immediate¹⁷ and long-term strategic and economic interests.

1 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

2 premier   

adj.首要的；n.总理，首相

参考例句：

• The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。

3 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

4 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。

5 estranged   

adj.疏远的，分离的

参考例句：

• He became estranged from his family after the argument.那场争吵后他便与家人疏远了。
• The argument estranged him from his brother.争吵使他同他的兄弟之间的关系疏远了。

6 poised   

a.摆好姿势不动的

参考例句：

• The hawk poised in mid-air ready to swoop. 老鹰在半空中盘旋，准备俯冲。
• Tina was tense, her hand poised over the telephone. 蒂娜心情紧张，手悬在电话机上。

7 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

8 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

9 prominence   

n.突出；显著；杰出；重要

参考例句：

• He came to prominence during the World Cup in Italy.他在意大利的世界杯赛中声名鹊起。
• This young fashion designer is rising to prominence.这位年轻的时装设计师的声望越来越高。

10 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

11 Mandarin   

n.中国官话，国语，满清官吏；adj.华丽辞藻的

参考例句：

• Just over one billion people speak Mandarin as their native tongue.大约有十亿以上的人口以华语为母语。
• Mandarin will be the new official language of the European Union.普通话会变成欧盟新的官方语言。

12 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

13 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

14 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

15 biennial   

adj.两年一次的

参考例句：

• The workers were strongly against the biennial election.工人们强烈反对两年一次的选举。
• His is a biennial,and one of the most useful pasture plants we have.这是两年生植物，也是我们最有用的牧草之一。

16 initiated   

n. 创始人 adj. 新加入的 vt. 开始，创始，启蒙，介绍加入

参考例句：

• He has not yet been thoroughly initiated into the mysteries of computers. 他对计算机的奥秘尚未入门。
• The artist initiated the girl into the art world in France. 这个艺术家介绍这个女孩加入巴黎艺术界。

17 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。