U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson Wednesday afternoon began his third China trip in seven months in preparation for the second round of the China-U.S. Strategic Economic Dialogue scheduled for May in Washington.

On his arrival, Paulson met with Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi, who conveyed President Hu Jintao's message to his U.S. counterpart George W. Bush through Paulson.

Hu said China attached importance to the Sino-U.S. Strategic Economic Dialogue, and would make efforts to ensure it succeed in deepening the relationship.

Wu and Paulson held closed-door talks prior to the official meeting.

After the meeting, Paulson will fly to Shanghai, where he is scheduled to deliver a speech and meet with business leaders.

China and the United States launched the strategic economic dialogue last September. Wu and Paulson co-chaired the dialogue as special representatives of the presidents of the two countries.

The dialogue will be held twice a year. The first round was held last December in Beijing.

The second round will be held in Washington in May, with topics covering innovation, education and bilateral trade relations.

"Now the Chinese and the U.S. sides are closely discussing and steadily preparing for the coming talks," Wu said.

Wu told Paulson that China was ready to make joint efforts with the United States to promote the success of the second round in a bid to enhance strategic mutual trust, realize mutual benefits and results, and promote the development of constructive and cooperative relations.

Paulson said President Bush attached great importance to U.S.-China strategic economic dialogue and made it a key task of his administration to advance the dialogue.

He also conveyed Bush's message to President Hu through Wu.

Paulson expressed his willingness to closely cooperate with Wu to jointly promote the progress of the dialogue and carry out the important consensus reached by the two heads of states, in a bid to contribute to the development of U.S.-China constructive and cooperative relations.

Before leaving for China, Paulson told reporters that the relationship was very important for the United States and it should not perceive China as an economic enemy.

"I would say that our relationship with China is multifaceted and it's a very important relationship for the U.S.," said Paulson in an interview on ABC, calling for proper handling of the relationship with China "on a long-term basis".

Source: Xinhua