Upgraded China, U.S. dialogue to focus on strategic, economic issues

WASHINGTON, July 26 (Xinhua) -- The first round of the China-U.S. Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED) will be held here on Monday and Tuesday, during which Chinese and U.S. officials will discuss an array of issues of strategic, overall and long-term significance.

Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan will co-chair the "Economic Track" of the dialogue with U.S. Treasure Secretary Timothy Geithner, while Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo will co-chair the "Strategic Track" with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

According to the preset schedule, a joint opening session will be held in the Ronald Reagan Building on Monday morning, during which U.S. President Barack Obama will deliver a speech. It will be followed by a plenary session and separate bilateral discussions between Wang and Geithner as well as Dai and Clinton.

The "Economic Track" and the "Strategic Track" will hold respective close-door dialogues on Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning.

After the dialogue, Obama is expected to meet with the Chinese delegation, and Chinese and U.S. officials will hold a joint press conference and respective briefings to introduce the outcome. During their stay in Washington D.C., Chinese officials will also meet with Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, former U.S. Treasure Secretary Henry Paulson, World Bank Chief Economist Justin Yifu Lin, congressmen and other officials.

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

The scheduled high-level meeting, the first of its kind between the world's biggest developing country and biggest developed country, is a reincarnation of a biannual Strategic Economic Dialogue set up by the two countries in 2006 and a vice-ministerial Strategic Dialogue in 2005.

The new mechanism was jointly launched by Chinese President Hu Jintao and his American counterpart Barack Obama during their meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in London on April 1.