Intensive high-level contacts warm up Obama's China visit

Sino-U.S. ties have been warmed up for U.S. President Barack Obama's upcoming China visit by frequent contacts between high-level officials from both sides, Chinese experts said Thursday.

The 20th meeting of China-U.S. Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT) was officially convened on Thursday morning in China's eastern city of Hangzhou.

This year's JCCT talks, highlighted by U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, Trade Representative Ron Kirk and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, were widely seen as part of preparations for the presidential summit next month.

"Today's JCCT meeting laid a solid groundwork and made full preparations for President Obama's visit in two weeks, which will help build the positive, cooperative and comprehensive China-U.S. relations toward the 21st century," China's Minister of Commerce Chen Deming said at the end of talks.

In the meantime, Xu Caihou, vice chairman of China's Central Military Commission, was paying his first visit to the United States under the Obama administration.

During his talks with U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Xu and Gates explored ways to further military-to-military cooperation and reached agreement on seven points, which included Gates' visit to China in 2010 and mutual visits of warships.

The agreement on conducting joint maritime searches and rescue exercises has already had the embryonic form of crisis management mechanism, said Ding Xinghao, president of the Shanghai Association of American Studies.

During the 11-day visit, the Chinese general was also invited to visit some sensitive military sites, including the Strategic Command Headquarter, which was in charge of nuclear weapons and cyber war.

Xu's visits to the sensitive military sites showed the U.S. military's willingness to promote mutual trust with the Chinese military, said Fu Mengzi, a researcher with the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations.

Since the Obama administration took office, Sino-U.S. relations have witnessed a smooth transition and maintained a good momentum of development.

In June 2009, the defense ministries of China and the United States held the 10th defense consultation. In July, the two countries held their first round strategic and economic dialogue. In August, the two militaries held the maritime military security consultation.

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http://paper.people.com.cn/rmrb/html/2009-10/30/content_371861.htm